30 December 2005 – With the peacekeeping United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) ending its mandate tomorrow, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today noted its successes and pledged that the UN would remain active in the West African country, helping the Government and people to address the root causes of a brutal civil war and to rebuild national capacity.
29 December 2005 – Despite a consistent and forceful Security Council response to the crisis in Sudan’s western Darfur region, reports from there confirm a marked deterioration since September, including an increase in ethnic clashes, destabilizing elements crossing in from Chad and continuing banditry, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.
29 December 2005 – Emphasizing that Iraqis who have complaints about their recent elections should get a hearing, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the decision by the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE) to establish a team of experts to examine the issue.
29 December 2005 – The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) separating Ethiopia and Eritrea remains “tense and potentially volatile,” a spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission there, which has been forced to relocate some staff because of Eritrean demands, said today.
29 December 2005 – The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) is funding nearly a dozen new initiatives aimed at boosting education and health across eight provinces in the country, which is stabilizing despite continued rebel activities.
28 December 2005 – The United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today welcomed the formation of a new Government in the divided West African country – a move which followed in-depth consultations between the parties.
28 December 2005 – Responding to a Security Council resolution binding 191 United Nations Member States to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, three dozen governments have signed up to help other countries draft legal frameworks, put in place domestic controls, or share their experiences.
28 December 2005 – The United States should “seek resolution” with the Baghdad Government in relation to a $1.4 billion contract awarded to the firm Kellogg, Brown and Root using Iraqi oil revenue, officials from the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) set up to track the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) said today.
27 December 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Tom Koenigs, a German national who has served the UN in Kosovo and Guatemala, as the new head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
23 December 2005 – Echoing yesterday’s acclamation from the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today congratulated the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the successful conduct of their constitutional referendum on 18 and 19 December, despite the tremendous challenges they faced.
22 December 2005 – The General Assembly could agree by as early as tomorrow on the United Nations’ budget for the next two years, the Assembly’s President Jan Eliasson said today, after weeks of contentious and often slow-moving talks on the issue.
22 December 2005 – The military situation in and around the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) that separates Ethiopian and Eritrean forces remains tense and potentially volatile, even though Ethiopian troops have started pulling back in accordance with Security Council demands, the United Nations mission keeping the truce in the region said today.
21 December 2005 – The Security Council has congratulated the people of Afghanistan on the inauguration of their new Parliament, which marked the completion of the political process set in motion four years ago at United Nations-sponsored talks in Bonn, Germany, after the ouster of the Taliban regime.
21 December 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today condemned attacks by “armed elements” on Chad’s national army on Monday and also expressed concern that the continuing violence in western Sudan’s Darfur region might spill over into its neighbour.
21 December 2005 – After receiving reports that the situation in Liberia is still a threat to international peace and that its natural resources are still not being used in a way that benefits its people, the United Nations Security Council has renewed the sanctions regime it imposed on the war-torn country in 2001, which now includes timber, travel, arms and diamond embargoes.
21 December 2005 – Noting “the very tense situation in the Middle East,” the Security Council today extended for six months the mandate of the long-running United Nations peacekeeping force observing the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.
21 December 2005 – Expressing serious concern at the continuation of hostilities by a rebel group in Burundi despite the successful transition to a democratically-elected Government there, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country for six months until 1 July 2006.
21 December 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today endorsed the call of its Counter-Terrorism Committee for greater assistance to Member States by providing technical expertise and by finding ways to improve cooperation with international, regional and sub-regional organizations.
21 December 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today congratulated the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for successfully carrying out a referendum on its draft Constitution last weekend that paves the way for the country’s first democratic elections next year.
21 December 2005 – With the United Nation mission that over the past six years has brought peace and stability to Sierra Leone winding up this month, the Security Council has called on donors and development partners to continue their support to consolidate the West African country’s rebirth after a vicious civil war.
21 December 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) today praised the decision of the losing party to halt its challenge of the results of last month’s run-off presidential elections - the culmination of efforts to move the West African nation toward peace and democracy after 14 years of civil war.
20 December 2005 – The United Nations will stay the course over the next five years in helping Afghanistan through its full transition to peace and democracy after decades of war and civil conflict as tenaciously as it has since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the head of the world body’s peacekeeping operations said today.
20 December 2005 – With only 10 days left before the expiration of the original deadline of the Middle East Diplomatic Quartet’s so-called Road Map peace plan for a final and settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a top United Nations official stressed today that the plan is still the agreed framework for reaching a lasting peace in the Middle East.
20 December 2005 – In his final briefing to the Security Council on Sierra Leone today, the top United Nations envoy there said that the country’s rebirth from the horrors of civil war is continuing, long with a growing sense of stability and an improvement of basic services, though international security assistance is still needed.
20 December 2005 – In an historic action that brings to fruition a central reform proposed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the 2005 World Summit, the Security Council and the General Assembly today acted in concert to establish a new body that aims to prevent countries emerging from conflict from falling back into chaos.
19 December 2005 – The top United Nations humanitarian relief official today pleaded for the Security Council to take urgent political and security measures to stem crises resurgent in Darfur, south Sudan, Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa, so that humanitarian efforts will not be overwhelmed by violence and Governmental problems.
16 December 2005 – The United Nations today commended the Iraqi people for their active nationwide participation in yesterday’s elections, congratulated the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) for the conduct of the poll, and pledged its continued support on the path to peace and democracy in the strife-torn country.
16 December 2005 – A United Nations genocide expert today voiced disappointment in the efforts of Sudan’s Government to address the crimes committed in the country’s western Darfur region, where conflict has been marked by massive displacement, rights abuses and widespread killings.
16 December 2005 – As staff members of the United Nations mission meant to keep the truce between Ethiopia and Eritrea began pulling out of Eritrea for security reasons following new restrictions placed on them by that Government, the head of UN peacekeeping stressed that the Mission is at a critical crossroads.
15 December 2005 – Voicing “extreme concern” that Syria has not yet provided full and unconditional cooperation to the United Nations inquiry into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Security Council today unanimously demanded that the Syrian Government respond “unambiguously and immediately” in all necessary areas of the probe.
15 December 2005 – As 290 of the remaining peacekeepers of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) departed today, two weeks short of the end of their mandate to cement the peace after a brutal civil war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he viewed mission’s accomplishments “with a deep sense of satisfaction.”
15 December 2005 – With the Côte d’Ivoire still split in half between the Government and rebel forces, the United Nations Security Council today renewed for another year the arms embargo and the travel and financial restrictions applied to those deemed to threaten peace there, while also deciding to ban imports of rough diamonds from the country.
15 December 2005 – The apparent momentum earlier this year to bring two of the most notorious fugitives from the Balkan wars of the 1990s before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has ebbed, and there is no serious attempt now to seize them, the court’s Chief Prosecutor told the Security Council today.
14 December 2005 – On the eve of Iraq’s elections, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the country’s people to go to the polls in a peaceful manner and pledged the world body’s support.
14 December 2005 – Voicing concern about political tensions along party lines in Guinea-Bissau, members of the Security Council today urged all concerned to maintain their commitment to the rule of law.
14 December 2005 – Reiterating its condemnation of Eritrea’s request last week for the pullout of United Nations personnel of specified nationalities, as well as its earlier ban on peacekeeping flights, the Security Council today decided to temporarily relocate some military and civilian staff now in that country to Ethiopia for their safety.
14 December 2005 – The Security Council today extended, through mid-June 2006, the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which monitors the ceasefire lines extending some 180 kilometres across the island.
13 December 2005 – Bearing new evidence pointing to Syria’s involvement in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and its reluctance to investigate the crime, the head of the independent probe on the matter presented his latest report to the Security Council, where the Ambassador of Syria denied this account while Lebanon’s representative called for the creation of an international tribunal.
13 December 2005 – The General Assembly today decided to consider follow up to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the scandal-ridden United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme.
13 December 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan told journalists in New York today that he has discussed with Lebanon’s leaders the possibility of expanding the United Nations independent investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to include other murders, and that the Security Council would have to take a decision on the matter.
13 December 2005 – Latest evidence reinforces preliminary findings of both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to a new United Nations report citing burned Syrian documents, pressure on a witness to recant and the need for Damascus to be more forthcoming.
13 December 2005 – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), entrusted by the United Nations Security Council with investigating human rights abuses in Sudan’s Darfur conflict today reported good progress in gathering facts but stressed that an effective system of witness and victim protection, at present non-existent, is vital.
12 December 2005 – The Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the murder of Gibran Tueni, a politician and journalist in Lebanon, as Council members received the report of Detlev Mehlis, head of the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) probing the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
12 December 2005 – The top United Nations officials travelling to the Horn of Africa at the urgent request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to defuse the crisis caused when Eritrea requested the pullout of peacekeeping personnel of certain nationalities have arrived in the capital of that country, Asmara.
12 December 2005 – Progress in returning to Kuwait the remains of its nationals and others killed during Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of the country has been slow because of the prevailing insecurity in Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the Security Council.
9 December 2005 – With United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling on the international community to give Liberia urgent assistance with security sector reform, an expert panel has spotlighted “continuing reports of organized recruitment of ex-combatants in Liberia to fight in Côte d’Ivoire.”
9 December 2005 – Despite a sharper United Nations focus on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, civilians continue to suffer devastating “collateral damage,” as well as targeted violence, increasingly in the form of sexual abuse, forced displacement, terrorism and extreme economic deprivation, requiring ever-evolving protective mechanisms, the Security Council was told today.
9 December 2005 – After the recent swearing-in of an elected President in Guinea-Bissau following three decades of coups and counter-coups, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all political actors and the society at large there to address their remaining differences peacefully through the rule of law.
9 December 2005 – The increasingly sectarian nature of violence in Iraq, the continued lack of security, and ongoing human rights violations pose key challenges as the country prepares to go to the polls next week, underscoring the need for the communities to reach out to each other, according to a United Nations report released today.
9 December 2005 – With the situation along the Israel-Syria ceasefire line “generally quiet” but still lacking a political resolution, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights be extended for another six months.
9 December 2005 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today condemned recent remarks about Israel and the denial of the Holocaust attributed to Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
9 December 2005 – Two top United Nations officials are expected to arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday and in Eritrea Tuesday, acting on the urgent request of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to ease tensions after Eritrea requested the pullout of personnel of certain national origin.
9 December 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the appointment of banker Charles Konan Banny as Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire and called for the establishment of the Government without delay so that he can quickly carry out plans for elections.
8 December 2005 – With the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reporting banditry, looting and ethnic fighting in Sudan’s western Darfur region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today voiced grave concern about the worsening situation in the area and called on all parties to respect their ceasefire agreement.
8 December 2005 – Following the UN’s rejection yesterday of Eritrea’s request for the pullout of personnel of specified nationalities, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to send two top United Nations officials to the Horn of Africa to assess the situation on the ground and suggest next steps to improve it, a spokesman for the world body said today.
7 December 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has upgraded the organization’s mission in post-election Central African Republic and extended its mandate until the end of next year at the request of the Government.
7 December 2005 – Eritrea today requested that members of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) who are nationals of key States leave that operation, drawing immediate condemnation from the Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, as well as a world body's senior peacekeeping official, who said there will be no pullout of personnel.
6 December 2005 – The peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on the right track, but the referendum this month and the legislative elections due to take place by the end of next June will require immense logistical effort, the leader of the Security Council’s early November mission to Central Africa said today.
6 December 2005 – In a bid to tighten the noose around terrorists, the first Interpol-United Nations Security Council Special Notices have been issued for individuals targeted by UN sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban.
5 December 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the appointment of Charles Konan Banny as the new Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, a key step in the political transition aimed at ending years of unrest in the divided country.
2 December 2005 – With new challenges to the well-being of civilian populations arising from a new warfare, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for closer UN cooperation with regional organizations on the needs of "a culture of protection" and for the inclusion of civilian protections in the design of peacekeeping missions.
2 December 2005 – A military delegation from the African Union (AU) has arrived in North Kivu in the troubled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to assess the possible deployment of 7,000 troops to disarm foreign armed groups who have been attacking civilians, the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC) said.
1 December 2005 – Long an advocate of completing a treaty against all forms of terrorism by the end of this year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today voiced disappointment over the failure of the General Assembly's committee on legal affairs to reach agreement on a draft comprehensive convention.
1 December 2005 – Saying the situation in Cyprus was calm but "progress toward a political solution remains negligible at best," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there be extended for six-months, under its present authorized strength.
1 December 2005 – Troop movements have been noticed on both sides of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border, where the two countries fought a war from 1998 to 2000, and where restrictions on United Nations peacekeeping patrols continue, with many being prevented from going off main roads to carry out their monitoring functions.
30 November 2005 – Noting that "factors of instability" remain in post-election Burundi, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the peacekeeping UN mission there for two months until mid-January.
30 November 2005 – The Security Council today expressed deep concern "at the persistent disagreements among Ivorian parties" over the appointment of an interim prime minister to lead the divided West African country into the next phase of its political transition after years of political unrest and a failed 2001 coup.
30 November 2005 – The Security Council today welcomed the successful opening of the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt last Friday as an important step forward, following the mid-November agreement on movement and access between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
29 November 2005 – Increasing restrictions on the freedom of movement of United Nations peacekeepers following an Eritrean ban on helicopter flights has made it harder to warn the international community of any new outbreak of hostilities on the tense frontier with Ethiopia, where the two countries fought a two-year border war.
28 November 2005 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia today launched a programme to provide formal education to 20,000 disarmed former combatants as part of efforts to reintegrate into the mainstream the West African country's former belligerents who ended their civil conflict in 2003.
26 November 2005 – At a United Nations-chaired meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, representatives of Ethiopia and Eritrea traded blame for the rising tensions along their shared border but pledged not to escalate them further, the UN Mission in the two Horn of Africa countries (UNMEE) announced today.
25 November 2005 – With the Security Council having decided to strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti, the General Assembly has approved increases in funding for both missions over the year ending next June.
25 November 2005 – A day after the Security Council threatened possible sanctions against Eritrea and Ethiopia, the United Nations mission there reported that the military situation remained tense, and Ethiopian troops had earlier briefly violated a separation zone between the two countries, which fought a border war from 1998 to 2000.
25 November 2005 – The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons has called on Iran to take speedy action to provide additional information and take other measures that are “indispensable” for ensuring that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
25 November 2005 – Detlev Mehlis, who heads the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, has reached an agreement with the Syrian authorities on the United Nations office in Vienna as a venue for the questioning of five Syrian officials in the case, a UN spokesperson confirmed today.
23 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council this morning congratulated the people of Afghanistan on the confirmation of the final results for the parliamentary and provincial council elections as paving the way toward the timely inauguration of the new parliament and the conclusion of its transitional political phase.
23 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today briefed the Security Council on his recent trip to the Middle East, touching on the issues of terrorism, Syria and Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
23 November 2005 – Urging the Government of Burundi and the international community to adopt a common approach on ending the armed conflict in the country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended extending the mandate of a reduced peacekeeping UN Operation in Burundi, (ONUB) until next May.
23 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today expressed deep concern about the hostilities along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon on Monday, "which were initiated by Hizbollah from the Lebanese side, and which quickly spread along the entire Blue Line," and said it regretted the casualties on both sides.
23 November 2005 – The Security Council today threatened actions – which could include sanctions – against Eritrea and Ethiopia if, in the case of Eritrea, it does not immediately rescind its ban on United Nations flights in its airspace, and against both parties in the recently rekindled Horn of Africa border dispute if they do not reverse their military build up.
22 November 2005 – Deploring "in the strongest terms" the exchange of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed for a return to calm and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint.
22 November 2005 – Fresh from a fact-finding mission across Central Africa, the United Nations Security Council has recommended dozens of actions it must take in and around the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to put in place measures for sustained peace and to make the most expensive elections the world body has ever helped to organize both free and fair.
21 November 2005 – With violence increasing dangerously as militias and bandits grow more aggressive in western Sudan's Darfur region, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the international community and the Sudanese to ensure that a framework peace agreement is negotiated in the Nigerian capital by the end of next month.
21 November 2005 – The "window of opportunity" to revitalize the Middle East peace process that opened during the past year is still open, but the setbacks include Israel's building of the separation barrier and the Palestinian Authority's failure to help restore law and order, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan says in his latest report.
21 November 2005 – The military situation along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border, remained tense and potentially volatile during the past week and the Eritrean ban on United Nations helicopter flights has again complicated the evacuation of injured personnel, according to the latest update from the UN peacekeeping mission.
21 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today extended the mission of the European Union's stabilization force (EUFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the next 12 months to ensure continued compliance with the 1995 Dayton/Paris Agreement that ended a fierce war and to continue to contribute to a secure environment in the country.
21 November 2005 – A newly-formed Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, chaired by France, has started work on implementing a resolution approved in July to promote the rights of children affected by armed conflict anywhere in the world.
21 November 2005 – The top United Nations political affairs official today condemned the heavy exchange of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon which, according to the available information, began from the Lebanese side around 3 p.m. and resulted in deaths among both Israeli and Hizbollah forces.
18 November 2005 – Continuing their anti-gang operations in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, United Nations peacekeepers launched another raid in the Cité Militaire area yesterday after intense firing during the night sowed panic among residents.
17 November 2005 – United Nations Member States are ready to step up talks on decisions made by world leaders at the September 2005 World Summit in New York in the areas of peace-building, terrorism, human rights, development and UN management, the President of the General Assembly said today.
17 November 2005 – The ability of the United Nations to monitor the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) separating Ethiopia and Eritrea is shrinking while posturing by the formerly-warring Horn of Africa countries is raising the stakes, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping said today in New York.
16 November 2005 – In their latest anti-gang operation in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, 200 United Nations peacekeepers waged an eight-hour gun battle yesterday with heavily armed men who attacked them when they were checking a barricade under construction, killing four of the assailants.
16 November 2005 – Continuing meetings in Beirut today, a senior United Nations official emphasized his confidence in Detlev Mehlis' investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and issued a renewed plea for Syria to cooperate fully with that probe so that the crime does not go unpunished.
15 November 2005 – A United Nations review board has cleared Joseph Stephanides, a staffer who was fired on 1 June for 'serious misconduct' linked to the Oil-for-Food scandal, prompting Secretary-General Kofi Annan to reinstate him with full pay and benefits.
15 November 2005 – In a final, emotional briefing to the United Nations Security Council today, the chief representative of the European Union EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina said that the Balkan country was primed for EU membership just ten years after the brutal war that had left its people traumatized and an infrastructure collapsed.
15 November 2005 – The defence expenditure of Côte d'Ivoire is high, the revenue details of cocoa, its main export, lack transparency, and illicit diamond exports could buy banned weapons, according to the latest report on the United Nations arms embargo against the West African country, split in half by fighting between Government and rebel forces.
15 November 2005 – Peace in Africa's restive Great Lakes region is close at hand, the leader of the Security Council mission just back from visiting five countries there told the 15-member body today.
15 November 2005 – United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti carried out several search and security operations over the weekend against gang members in various districts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and its surroundings, the UN mission there has reported.
11 November 2005 – The military situation along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border, which Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned could lead to another round of “devastating hostilities,” remained tense and potentially volatile during the past week, according to the latest update from the increasingly restricted United Nations peacekeeping mission in the area.
11 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today commended Liberians for their commitment to peace during the recent run-off presidential elections and, citing the threat posed by the potential repatriation of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, called for UN peacekeepers to arrest him if he returned to the country.
10 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan will go to Amman, Jordan, tomorrow to confer with King Abdullah II and United Nations staff following the terrorist suicide bombings on three hotels there that killed scores of people and injured more than 100 others.
10 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council wound up its five-nation visit today in Tanzania, where it thanked the Government for hosting refugees and for its peace mediation in the African Great Lakes region, where the UN is helping to organize the biggest elections in its 60-year history in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
9 November 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with the leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia in their respective countries as part of a two-week trip that began in France and will also take him to Tunisia and Pakistan.
9 November 2005 – Responding to a request from the Baghdad Government, the Security Council today transferred more than $2 million of residual Oil-for-Food funds earmarked for the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), settling Iraq's outstanding arrears with the Agency.
9 November 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is currently travelling in the Middle East, today strongly condemned the bombings in Amman, Jordan, and reiterated his longstanding call for the adoption of a comprehensive international treaty to fight the scourge of terrorism.
9 November 2005 – Stressing that any resort to military force to solve the current differences between Somalia's transitional federal institutions is unacceptable, the United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the increased inflow of weapons into the Horn of Africa country and the attempted assassination of the Prime Minister on Sunday.
8 November 2005 – The man who served briefly as interim Rwandan interior minister during the peak months of the 1994 genocide and is accused of helping to coordinate the slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus turned himself in today to the United Nations criminal tribunal in Tanzania, bringing the number arrested to 72.
8 November 2005 – Visiting Ethiopia and Eritrea amid concerns that deteriorating relations could lead to fresh fighting between the two countries, which fought a bitter border war from 1998 to 2000, a United Nations Security Council envoy today received a briefing from UN military observers but no explanation from the Asmara Government as to why it has banned flights over Eritrean territory.
8 November 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned what he called "brutal" attacks, two of which were fatal, on three attorneys defending officials of the regime of Saddam Hussein in a trial that began on 19 October 2005.
8 November 2005 – With Somali armed groups reported to be still receiving weapons despite a 1992 embargo, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has re-appointed four members of the sanctions Monitoring Group called for by the UN Security Council.
8 November 2005 – Calling Burundi an example of political success for the Central African region and beyond, the leader of a United Nations Security Council delegation on a fact-finding trip through Central Africa has pledged support for the country, emerging from ethnic clashes, as it undertakes the challenging recovery effort.
8 November 2005 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has assured Secretary-General Kofi Annan that he will cooperate with the United Nations-sponsored independent probe into the terrorist assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, following an interim finding that pointed to both Lebanese and Syrian involvement.
8 November 2005 – In a bid to thwart the smuggling of nuclear materials and the threat of terrorists’ acquiring weapons of mass destruction, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has laid out a series of “yardsticks”, including multilateral management of potential weapons-grade fuel and Security Council resolve to take action.
8 November 2005 – The United Nations Security Council decided unanimously today to extend the mandate of the United States-led multinational force in Iraq by one year, until the end of 2006, unless the Iraqi Government requests it leave earlier.
7 November 2005 – At the start of a two-day tour of Eritrea and Ethiopia to dispel rising tensions, the Chairman of the United Nations Security Council Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations said today that the resolution of the border dispute between the formerly warring Horn of Africa countries called for "delicacy, skills and good judgement."
7 November 2005 – Four prominent jurists were elected today – with one re-elected – to serve on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' principal judicial organ for settling disputes between countries, for a term of nine years beginning on 6 February 2006.
7 November 2005 – A Security Council delegation visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to review preparations for the biggest and most expensive elections the United Nations has ever helped to organize has called on the country's authorities to speed up the political transition to meet the planned timetable.
7 November 2005 – An assassination attempt made on the life of Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi, which occurred as he rode in a convoy in Mogadishu yesterday, was deplored today by the United Nations political office for the strife-torn country on the Horn of Africa.
3 November 2005 – United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have helped free four election officials who were abducted in the eastern North Kivu province almost two weeks ago, a spokesman for the world body said today.
3 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United Nations Security Council today strongly urged Eritrea and Ethiopia to refrain any threat or use of force as a UN envoy prepared to visit the region, where tensions are rising between the two formerly warring neighbours.
2 November 2005 – Expressing deep concern about reports of military movements by Ethiopia and Eritrea, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the two Horn of Africa countries to show maximum restraint and called on the Security Council, as well as individual Member States, "to take decisive steps to defuse the escalating tension."
2 November 2005 – The upcoming United Nations Security Council's visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will emphasize to the parties contesting the biggest and most expensive elections the UN has ever helped to organize that they are expected to accept the results, the UN peacekeeping chief said today.
2 November 2005 – The United Nations is aiming to help resolve outstanding issues between Syria and Lebanon such as the disbanding of militias and the demarcation of a border between the two countries, now that key Security Council goals for Lebanon have been met, including the holding of parliamentary elections and the withdrawal of Syrian troops, a senior UN official said today in New York.
1 November 2005 – Aiming to spotlight the potential for peace in Central Africa, the United Nations Security Council has announced plans to visit five countries in the region, which is largely recovering from ethnic and territorial conflict.
1 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, a veteran United Nations trouble-shooter, as his Special Envoy to lead the political process to determine the future status of the ethnically divided, UN-administered Serbian province of Kosovo.
1 November 2005 – While some requirements of a key United Nations resolution on Lebanon have been met, including withdrawal of Syrian troops and holding free and fair elections, others remain to be implemented, particularly disbanding Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report on the issue.
1 November 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative to Sudan today raised questions about the country's problematic security situation, which has limited the movements of United Nations personnel, during a meeting in Khartoum with the Interior Minister.
1 November 2005 – Less than a week after Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned that a serious deterioration between Ethiopia and Eritrea could lead to "another round of devastating hostilities," the United Nations mission monitoring a ceasefire between the two countries reported today that the situation on the ground is tense.
31 October 2005 – With Central African Republic (CAR) "gradually returning to a path of peace, economic recovery, reconstruction and sustainable development," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is calling for comprehensive joint assistance from the country's development partners.
31 October 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the series of deadly bomb attacks that shook New Delhi, India, on Saturday and urged all countries to cooperate with the country's authorities to bring those responsible to justice.
31 October 2005 – The United Nation Security Council today unanimously called on Syria to detain Syrian suspects identified by an independent probe into the terrorist assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and clarify all unresolved issues, holding out the possibility of "further action" in the case of non-compliance.
29 October 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General today pledged his personal support for the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire and urged the parties to refrain from any actions that would jeopardize stability as a new head of government is appointed in the troubled West African country.
28 October 2005 – Some 2.3 million Eritreans, about half the country's population, require some kind of food assistance because of drought and loss of production and livestock over the past four years, the United Nations emergency relief office reported today.
28 October 2005 – Expressing serious concern about the continuing hostilities by militias and foreign armed groups in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the threat to elections in the country, the Security Council today extended the United Nations Organization Mission (MONUC) there until next September, with an additional 300 troops.
28 October 2005 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today condemned remarks against Israel made earlier this week by Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
28 October 2005 – Calling for more contributions to help re-unite families separated during the conflict in Western Sahara, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) there until next April.
27 October 2005 – Receiving the final report of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into maladministration and corruption in the United Nations-run Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on Member States to take action against illegal practises by companies under their jurisdiction and to prevent recurrences.
27 October 2005 – With the earlier date of the now postponed elections in Côte d'Ivoire falling on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged Ivorians to refrain from creating tensions, but instead to work on quickly choosing a new prime minister and moving towards free and fair elections next year.
27 October 2005 – Five years after adopting a resolution on protecting women who are victims of war and helping them play a greater role as peacemakers, the United Nations Security Council today stressed the importance of accelerating implementation of the landmark measure.
26 October 2005 – With the Security Council having endorsed an African Union proposal for the appointment of a powerful new prime minister in Côte d'Ivoire by next Monday, the senior United Nations envoy to the country has said that President Laurent Gbagbo has agreed with the text.
26 October 2005 – More than 100 reports that countries are required to submit to United Nations anti-terrorism committees are overdue, the chairmen of those bodies told Security Council today.
26 October 2005 – On the eve of a Security Council meeting marking the fifth anniversary of the adoption of its landmark resolution on women, peace and security, key officials involved in the initiative today said more must be done to translate promises into action.
26 October 2005 – Collaborating with its partners, the United Nations is working in an environment where more landmines come out of the ground than are planted each year, a senior peacekeeping official told the General Assembly's Special Political and Decolonization Committee today.
25 October 2005 – Warning that the serious deterioration of the situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea could lead to "another round of devastating hostilities," Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the Security Council to ensure that recent Eritrean restrictions on United Nations peacekeepers in the area are lifted.
25 October 2005 – The head of the United Nations commission which found evidence pointing at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told the Security Council today the team had received threats and the already high risks it faced would increase further as it completes its work.
24 October 2005 – The Security Council today endorsed the start of talks on the future status of ethnically-divided Kosovo, with the United Nations administrator of the Serbian province, which the world body has run for the past six years, calling it a very historic day.
24 October 2005 – From its Headquarters in New York to its far-flung outposts on the front line in Afghanistan and other crisis points around the world, the United Nations today celebrated its 60th birthday with wreath layings for fallen colleagues, the ringing of the Harmony Bell and appeals to rise to the new challenges that lie ahead.
22 October 2005 – Both sides of the United Nations Secretariat building in New York are illuminated through Monday with the words “UN 60” in commemoration of the world body’s six decades of existence.
21 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has written to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, calling on him to lift Eritrea's ban on helicopter flights by the United Nations peacekeeping mission over its sector of the troubled frontier with Ethiopia.
21 October 2005 – With peace talks between the Georgia Government and Abkhaz separatists restarted, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has voiced hope that both sides will be able to agree to a non-resumption of hostilities and the safe return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
21 October 2005 – The panel investigating the February assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri operated with full autonomy, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, one day after he had transmitted its report to the Security Council.
21 October 2005 – Although democratic progress in Kosovo has been uneven, talks should begin now on the future status of the UN-administered province of Serbia and Montenegro, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council in a letter released today.
21 October 2005 – "Converging evidence" points at both Lebanese and Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to a report by a United Nations investigating panel, which concluded that the "terror" attack on 14 February had been carried out by a group with an extensive organization and considerable resources.
21 October 2005 – Expressing its serious concern over the deteriorating situation in Côte d'Ivoire and condemning serious recent attacks on United Nations peacekeeping personnel, the Security Council today called on all the parties in the divided West African country to implement immediately all the peace accords they have signed.
20 October 2005 – Voicing surprise at Arab League criticism of his Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reaffirmed his full confidence in the official, Alvaro de Soto, and said he expected all parties to work with him in the common search for peace.
20 October 2005 – The head of the United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri presented his report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan today, after an earlier mission found Lebanon's own investigation seriously flawed and Syria primarily responsible for the political tension preceding the murder.
20 October 2005 – The resurgence of violence in Sudan's Darfur region and the Government's continued unwillingness or inability to restrain armed tribal militias, may threaten the peace talks, and the international community needs to apply renewed pressure for a successful outcome, the United Nations Secretary-General says in a report.
20 October 2005 – The United Nations Secretary-General's representative in Haiti is in Brussels today for a two-day European Union (EU) donors' conference which he hopes will create an emergency fund for the troubled Caribbean country.
20 October 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has warned that it will “react robustly” to threats of violence against those involved in elections following reports that the head of the elections commission had been threatened as the West African country seeks to emerge from years of civil war and anarchy.
20 October 2005 – Friction between leaders in Somalia is preventing the country's federal institutions from functioning effectively and if divisions intensify these fragile structures could be undermined, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in a new report to the Security Council.
20 October 2005 – United Nations Member States must act to implement the decisions of last month's historic World Summit, which produced major progress as well as plans for further advancement, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette has said.
20 October 2005 – Energetic coordination, cooperation and engagement by Israelis, Palestinians and the international community are necessary to translate a positive development, Israel's disengagement from Gaza, into a sustained and negotiated peace, the top United Nations political officer said today.
20 October 2005 – With elections in Côte d'Ivoire being postponed for a year amid security concerns and human rights violations, the chairman of the United Nations Security Council Sanctions Committee is in the country's major commercial city of Abidjan today holding high-level meetings with signatories of the 2003 peace agreement and officials monitoring that accord.
19 October 2005 – Five years after the adoption of a groundbreaking Security Council resolution on women in armed conflict, emissaries from some of the most war-ravaged parts of the world meeting at a United Nations-backed conference in Bucharest said more must be done to implement its provisions.
19 October 2005 – The head of the United Nations inquiry into the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri may present his report to the Security Council on Friday, a UN spokesman said today.
19 October 2005 – With the situation in Côte d’Ivoire continuing to pose a threat to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate of the three-person team monitoring the arms embargo against that country, which has been divided between government and rebel forces since fighting broke out in 2002.
19 October 2005 – The Security Council today discussed Eritrea’s ban on United Nations helicopter flights over its sector of the frontier with Ethiopia – a measure which has limited the ability of the UN peacekeeping mission there to conduct surveillance, emergency evacuations and de-mining.
18 October 2005 – Three United Nations peacekeepers who were injured in a road accident in the Eritrean-Ethiopian border area had to be evacuated over land in an eight-hour trip "under very precarious conditions" because Eritrea did not respond to a request to lift the ban it has imposed on UN helicopter flights.
18 October 2005 – The Security Council today stressed the primary importance of holding a first round of elections in Haiti this year, and urged the authorities there to undertake a series of measure to achieve this goal.
18 October 2005 – With the aim of strengthening the commitment and accountability of the United Nations to gender equality, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a comprehensive plan for reinforcing and integrating women’s issues into the world body’s peacekeeping and post-conflict operations.
18 October 2005 – Amid postponed elections, continued insecurity and numerous allegations of human rights violations in Côte D'Ivoire, the United Nations sanctions chairman arrived today in the country where he is meeting with senior officials and representatives of unofficial groups.
17 October 2005 – Last month’s United Nations World Summit established a starting-point for a host of reforms, from human rights, terrorism and peacebuilding to economic development and management overhaul, and the challenge now is to implement its decisions and fill the gaps, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a keynote speech today.
17 October 2005 – The positions of most key players in the Western Sahara dispute are quasi-irreconcilable, though they all hold strong views on the need for a durable solution, the senior United Nations envoy on the issue said today at the end of a visit to the region.
17 October 2005 – The Security Council today called for enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, which have over the past decade played an increasingly important role in supporting countries emerging from conflict.
17 October 2005 – The United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Kofi Annan today both praised the bravery of the Iraqi people for voting in Saturday's constitutional referendum and looked forward to national elections slated for December.
17 October 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking an end to foreign interference in Lebanon arrived in Paris today for meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, during which he is expected to raise the question of Palestinian militias in Lebanon.
17 October 2005 – The United Nations announced today that it is immediately vacating nearly half the 40 posts it maintains in the zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea to monitor a peace accord ending a two-year border war because an Eritrean ban on UN helicopter flights has adversely affected its operational effectiveness and monitoring capability.
14 October 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today endorsed the African Union's (AU) decision that elections in Côte d'Ivoire be postponed until at latest next October and said it would rapidly take measures to support the UN peacekeeping mission in the country based on progress in implementing the peace agreements that ended a fierce civil war.
14 October 2005 – Condemning the significant increase in the violations of the arms embargo against Somalia as a threat to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today requested Secretary-General Kofi Annan to re-establish the group monitoring the problem and give it a six-month mandate to continue its investigations.
14 October 2005 – Congratulating the large numbers of Liberians who participated in the recent elections, the United Nations Security Council today expressed the hope that the counting of ballots and the announcement of results later this month would take place smoothly and peacefully.
14 October 2005 – The United Nations Operations in Burundi (UNOB) will initiate preparatory talks in the coming weeks on a mixed Truth Commission and a Special Chamber within its court system on crimes committed during past ethnic conflicts, as agreed by the Bujumbura Government, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said.
14 October 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking to surmount the deadlock blocking a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara today met with the leaders of the Frente POLISARIO which has been fighting for the independence of the former Spanish colony which Morocco claims as part of its own territory.
13 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's new Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, on his first visit trip to the region today met with King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the start of a visit seeking to overcome the impasse blocking a 2003 peace plan for a referendum on self-determination.
13 October 2005 – With the African Union (AU) asking for this month's elections in Côte d'Ivoire to be delayed for a year, the United Nations peacekeeping mission chief today said the way to sustainable peace and security in the divided country is being impeded by such major challenges as "gruesome" human rights violations, obstruction of the work of the UN force and intimidation of political opponents.
12 October 2005 – Voicing hope that young people will continue the age-old struggle to strengthen human rights and the rule of law for all, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the recent UN summit achieved a historic breakthrough when the world's political leaders agreed that every government has the responsibility to protect its population.
12 October 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today said the situation in the country’s Darfur region remains tense, marked by unconfirmed reports of clashes between government forces and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and attacks on villages.
12 October 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative for Somalia will visit Moscow and Stockholm this week in his effort to find a peaceful solution to differences within the Somali Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), including strongly held views on where they should be based.
11 October 2005 – With a significant number of voters and with candidates representing a broad range of political opinion gearing up for upcoming elections in Haiti, a credible vote is possible but the Transitional Government must take further measures to ensure success, a new United Nations report says.
11 October 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s new Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, is set to start his first trip to the region tomorrow with visits to Morocco, Algeria and other principals in an effort to overcome the impasse blocking a 2003 peace plan for a referendum on self-determination.
11 October 2005 – One week after the Security Council called upon the Government of Eritrea to reverse its decision to restrict flights over its airspace, United Nations helicopters remain grounded because of the restrictions, which are hampering the world body’s peacekeeping activities in the area.
10 October 2005 – The United Nations General Assembly today elected Congo, Ghana, Peru, Qatar and Slovakia to serve two-year terms on the Security Council beginning on 1 January 2006.
10 October 2005 – Members of the Security Council today condemned rising violence in Darfur, Sudan, and called for the perpetrators of attacks to be brought to justice.
10 October 2005 – Just back from the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide warned today that the situation there is worsening and called for action to protect civilians, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and bring those responsible before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
10 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the killing and abduction of staff of the African Union Mission (AMIS) in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan and said those responsible must be held accountable.
7 October 2005 – A helicopter flight ban imposed by Eritrea against the United Nations peacekeeping operation (UNMEE) has forced the world body to suspend its lifesaving mine clearance activities in the country.
7 October 2005 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti today opened a new General Headquarters for the capital, Port-au-Prince, after voter registration across the country passed a benchmark of 3 million.
7 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today talks should now begin on the final status of ethnically-divided Kosovo, which the United Nations has run ever since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between the province’s Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
7 October 2005 – Reporting a sharp rise in violations of the arms embargo against Somalia, a UN monitoring group is recommending that the Security Council tighten the noose to cut funding available to former warlords in the war-ravaged country.
6 October 2005 – The United Nations and its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have nine months to accomplish crucial objectives in the country’s political transition – organizing credible elections, maintaining peace and security and addressing the devastation wrought by war, senior UN envoy William Lacy Swing said today.
6 October 2005 – Warning that Eritrea’s restrictions on United Nations helicopter flights are hampering peace operations, a senior UN envoy in the Horn of Africa today called for an immediate end to the measures and a breakthrough in the political stalemate gripping that country and its neighbour, Ethiopia, as they seek to settle their differences.
6 October 2005 – Israel's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank offers a chance to revive the Road Map peace initiative but its plans to expand West Bank settlements raise particular concern, according to a new report approved by the United Nations panel dealing with Palestinian rights.
5 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the Government of Eritrea to reverse immediately its decision to restrict all types of helicopter flights by the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) within Eritrean air space.
5 October 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today strongly condemned the recent incursion by armed elements of Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
5 October 2005 – Five years after a high-level panel made recommendations on how to improve peacekeeping, United Nations experts turned in a mixed scorecard on the results of the measures, which ranged from deploying missions to head off conflicts to maintaining trainers ready to start building capacity at a week's notice.
5 October 2005 – A higher level of commitment and more effective collaboration between the United Nations and civil society will be needed to enforce the rights of war-affected children in a world where 2 million have been killed, 6 million injured and 250,000 brutally exploited over the past decade, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict said in a new report.
4 October 2005 – Preparations for Iraq’s constitutional referendum on October 15 are largely complete and early indications on how the vote will proceed from a technical point of view are positive, the United Nations top electoral official said today.
4 October 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today received a report on Kosovo that could influence the timing of talks on the final status of the ethnically-divided province, which the United Nations has run since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
4 October 2005 – Expressing its concern that foreign armed groups remain in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Security Council today deplored the failure of a Rwandan rebel group to disarm and repatriate, as it had pledged to do in March, and welcomed the DRC's plans to disarm an incoming Ugandan rebel group.
4 October 2005 – The Security Council today strongly condemned the deadly weekend bombing in Bali, Indonesia, regretting that the island had "again fallen victim to a heinous act of terrorism."
4 October 2005 – The Security Council today called on Eritrea to reverse its decision to restrict helicopter flights by the peacekeeping United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) in its air space.
4 October 2005 – The Security Council's programme of work for October will range from a much-anticipated report on Kosovo as well as elections in Lebanon and Liberia to the problems of children caught up in armed conflict, the Permanent Representative of Romania, which holds the rotating presidency for the month, said today.
3 October 2005 – Sierra Leone faces a spectrum of challenges, from explosive youth unemployment to taking legitimate control of its rich mineral resources, as the United Nations peacekeeping mission winds down and the next phase of the West African country's development begins, the mission chief said today.
30 September 2005 – In a bid to capitalize on the momentum of the recently concluded World Summit that brought together the largest-ever number of leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the UN's main legislative body outlined today "an ambitious agenda" to move the Organization forward in a number of crucial areas, including peacebuilding, development, human rights and management reform.
30 September 2005 – The Security Council, faced with the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) expiring today, extended it for one month, until the end of October.
30 September 2005 – Saying he was "particularly appalled" by Wednesday's deadly attack on an internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camp in Sudan's Darfur region, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an immediate halt to attacks, as well as action by the country's Government to protect its people and redoubled efforts from all sides to achieve peace.
30 September 2005 – The United Nations Emergency Coordinator today condemned a proposed move to expel nearly 3,000 displaced people forcefully from a Roman Catholic mission in Côte d'Ivoire, announced in a Government circular this week, as counter to humanitarian principles.
29 September 2005 – In the present circumstances Côte d'Ivoire's elections will not be held, as constitutionally required, by the end of next month and the Security Council "may wish to consider taking firm action" against those who try to obstruct the implementation of the country's peace agreements, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
29 September 2005 – The Security Council has strongly condemned the attempted assassination of May Chidiac, a prominent Lebanese journalist, near Beirut this past Sunday, only a few days after another terrorist attack in the city killed one person and injured several others.
29 September 2005 – The United Nations refugee agency today voiced "grave concern" over an "unprecedented attack," purportedly by armed Arab men, on a camp for thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in western Sudan's Darfur region that is reported to have left 29 people dead and another 10 seriously wounded.
29 September 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking an end to foreign interference in Lebanon had a prolonged, "useful and productive" meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo today, reviewing both Lebanese issues and the broader political context.
28 September 2005 – As the electoral process proceeds in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for more troops for the peacekeeping mission there and a one-year extension of its mandate until October 2006, after the installation of a newly elected Government.
28 September 2005 – Stepping up efforts to reach a peace agreement in Sudan’s Darfur region by the end of the year, the top United Nations envoy to the country will be travelling to Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday for weekend consultations among the parties to the peace talks and the African Union (AU) mediation.
28 September 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking an end to foreign interference in Lebanon met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo today and is due to confer with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak tomorrow.
26 September 2005 – Despite progress in easing violence and destruction, a strong sense of impunity continues to prevail in Darfur, Sudan’s western region, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Adviser on Genocide Prevention told reporters in Khartoum today following a visit to the region.
26 September 2005 – The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons has called on Iran to work with the international community to provide assurances that its programme is for peaceful purposes after its previous treaty breaches were found to be within the competence of the Security Council.
26 September 2005 – The United Nations international criminal court for the 1994 Rwanda genocide says that it is "on course" to complete the trials of some 65 to 70 criminals accused of committing genocide and other crimes against humanity by 2008, the date set by the Security Council.
23 September 2005 – Even given the successful unilateral Israeli disengagement from Gaza, the only way forward to a comprehensive Middle East peace is for Israelis and Palestinians to take the mutually reinforcing steps outlined by the diplomatic Quartet, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council today.
23 September 2005 – Following recent press statements and speeches in the General Assembly to the contrary, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reiterated the United Nations’ long-standing position that Israel has withdrawn its forces from all Lebanese territory in fulfillment of Security Council resolutions.
23 September 2005 – 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) and has found no diversion of material.
23 September 2005 – Encouraging countries to deploy their peacekeeping troops in a timely manner to the strengthen peace agreements in the Sudan, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in that country (UNMIS) for six months, until March 2006.
23 September 2005 – With the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone winding down, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hascommended the West African country's Government for its efforts towards consolidating peace, but said many root causes of the 14-year conflict, such as youth unemployment, have not been addressed.
22 September 2005 – Welcoming Sunday’s legislative elections in Afghanistan, the Security Council today called on all sides to continue to work constructively toward the early establishment of a new Parliament.
22 September 2005 – The representatives of small and medium-sized countries voiced their opinions on a wide range of issues facing the international community and their own governments, including United Nations reform and moving to greater equity in economic development and human rights, as the General Assembly completed the sixth day of its annual debate for the current 60th anniversary session.
22 September 2005 – The Security Council today welcomed the decision by last week's Summit on Burundi to establish a forum of the country's partners and it urged Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative there to hold consultations with the new Government and its partners with a view to establishing the panel as soon as possible.
22 September 2005 – The Security Council today called on the international community to provide aid to Guinea-Bissau during its "delicate post-electoral phase" as the West African country emerges from several periods of instability during its 30 years of independence from Portugal.
22 September 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) will do its utmost to support Sudan's new Government of National Unity as it addresses the enormous challenges of establishing a durable peace and bringing economic development after decades of civil war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today as he welcomed the Government's swearing-in.
21 September 2005 – The failure of the non-proliferation treaty review and the lack of results and progress on disarmament are weakening the system of legal norms and pose a threat to world peace and multilateralism, according to a new report by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the General Assembly.
21 September 2005 – Despite the resurgence of insecurity in Darfur and south Sudan, new tensions in Khartoum and other threats, political progress is on track on the main fronts of conflict in Sudan, the top envoy of the United Nations to the country said today.
21 September 2005 – The United Nations should convene a meeting of senior officials from across the globe to formulate a plan to deal with terrorism effectively, the Foreign Minister of Egypt told the General Assembly this morning as it continued its annual debate.
21 September 2005 – Security Council President Lauro Baja today reiterated the Council's support for peace efforts in Côte d'Ivoire while also warning opposing factions that those who threaten the peace or violate human rights in the country will be subject to international sanctions.
21 September 2005 – Underlining the need for a broad strategy for conflict prevention and peaceful settlement of disputes, the United Nations Security Council has emphasized the potential contributions of a vibrant and diverse civil society and pledged to strengthen its relationship with its organizations.
21 September 2005 – Whatever happens in the next steps in Iraq's transition to democracy, in the long term it was crucial that Iraqis take ownership of the political process and the maintenance of security in their country, the top envoy of the United Nations in Iraq told the Security Council today.
20 September 2005 – Having elicited “strong, unambiguous commitments” on issues ranging from development to human rights to United Nations reform, the 2005 World Summit that ended Friday evening achieved important results despite serious gaps in such areas as nuclear non-proliferation, according to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
20 September 2005 – Fresh fighting in Sudan's embattled Darfur region is threatening 33,000 civilians who were receiving humanitarian assistance from three international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose staff have been withdrawn, and the United Nations mission in the country today called on the combatants to show restraint.
20 September 2005 – The General Assembly heard ministers of governments around the world call for more urgent action on reforming the United Nations to help it better maintain peace and security, along with meeting development goals, as the 60th anniversary General Debate of that body continued on its fourth day.
20 September 2005 – Israel's relations with the United Nations are "better than ever" and the country will, for the first time, seek a temporary seat on the Security Council, its Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.
20 September 2005 – The Nations Security Council held an open debate today on the role of civil society in conflict prevention and peaceful settlement of disputes, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan stressing the need for the world body to tap into the experience and expertise offered by such front-line groups.
20 September 2005 – The Security Council has increased and extended the mandate for the peacekeeping United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) until next March and authorized it to deploy troops to protect the UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone when the separate mission there, UNAMSIL, leaves at the end of this year.
20 September 2005 – As Al-Qaida evolves and the Taliban revives its attacks in Afghanistan, the team monitoring sanctions against those groups recommends making the strictures more powerful by more accurate listing of terrorists, actions to stop abuse of charities, and a widening of the arms embargo, according to a United Nations report released today.
19 September 2005 – Israel's recent withdrawal from Gaza was hailed today in the United Nations General Assembly by a number of speakers who also called for further action to restore Palestinian rights and achieve peace in the Middle East.
19 September 2005 – Welcoming the adoption of a draft text for the permanent constitution of Iraq by the Transitional National Assembly “as an important step,” the top United Nations envoy in the country today urged the Government to ensure the free expression of all points of view.
19 September 2005 – Speakers addressing the General Assembly's annual debate today offered mixed assessments of the Outcome document adopted at last week's United Nations Summit, while generally agreeing that it should serve as a platform for future action.
18 September 2005 – In a continuing series of bilateral talks with leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly’s 60th anniversary session, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today held wide-ranging talks on such crisis flashpoints as the Middle East, Iran’s nuclear programme and the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.
18 September 2005 – As Haiti prepares for elections in November and December with United Nations help, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the world community to provide necessary aid to help to re-establish order and spur development in the impoverished country, which has been plagued by unrest for many years.
18 September 2005 – Presidents from around the globe stressed the leadership role of the United Nations in setting the international agenda, as they addressed the General Assembly this morning on the second day the General Debate of its 60th anniversary session.
17 September 2005 – Inviting Member States to join him in a mutual accountability pact, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today set out a series of actions to ensure that the pledges made at this week's World Summit become reality.
17 September 2005 – National leaders from across the globe addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York today called for measures to tackle terrorism and other security threats prevailing in the world today.
17 September 2005 – The Security Council suffers from a “democracy deficit” and needs to include more permanent and non-permanent members from Africa, Latin America and Asia, Brazil’s External Relations Minister Celso Amorim told the General Assembly today.
17 September 2005 – The President of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government today urged a lifting of the arms embargo against his country, arguing before the General Assembly that sanctions targeted at individuals would do more to foster peace and stability in the war-ravaged nation.
17 September 2005 – Calling on the United Nations to “launch a lasting revolution of reform,” the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the General Assembly today that the world body must become more transparent and accountable to its Member States.
16 September 2005 – The co-chairs of the largest-ever gathering of heads of State and government this evening hailed the adoption of the 2005 World Summit Outcome as an historic step and urged that its words be translated into concrete actions.
16 September 2005 – After three decades of coups and counter-coups and a subsequent political transition, Guinea-Bissau now needs its partners to take part fully in the donor round table scheduled for November and to support a portfolio of quick-impact projects before that, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report.
16 September 2005 – Calls for bold action against poverty, steadfast steps against terrorism and a determined push for United Nations reform rang through the General Assembly Hall today as presidents, prime ministers and a king took the podium on the third and final day of the 2005 World Summit.
16 September 2005 – Aiming to bolster high-level international support for Haiti and the United Nations Stabilization Mission there (MINUSTAH) as the country prepares for elections, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will chair a ministerial meeting on the Caribbean country tomorrow.
16 September 2005 – Culminating the largest-ever gathering of world leaders, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted a historic outcome document encapsulating a unified stance by the international community on a broad array of crucial issues, from concrete steps towards combating poverty and promoting development to unqualified condemnation of all forms of terrorism along with the acceptance of collective responsibility to protect civilians against genocide and other crimes against humanity.
15 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan, underlining the daunting challenges faced by the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), has recommended that the Security Council renew the mission's mandate for another 12 months, until September 2006.
15 September 2005 – The draft process of the Iraqi constitution could have been more transparent and inclusive, and the Iraqi interim Government will need to ensure that a much broader political consensus shapes the upcoming constitutional referendum and national elections, according to a report released by Secretary-General Kofi Annan today.
15 September 2005 – The United Nations World Summit, the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State and Government, went into its second day today with leaders stressing the need for UN reform, the fight against terrorism, and further effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of slashing a host of socio-economic ills by 2015.
15 September 2005 – National leaders addressing the United Nations Summit in New York today praised the reform plan slated to for adoption by the gathering for its success on key fronts, notably peacebuilding, but said more action is needed in the area of disarmament.
14 September 2005 – African leaders addressing the United Nations Summit meeting in New York today said their continent should have permanent representation on the Security Council, whose agenda is dominated by conflicts there.
14 September 2005 – The 2005 World Summit, the largest gathering ever of international leaders, opened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today with a warning from Secretary-General Kofi Annan that “millions of lives and the hopes of billions” rest on fulfilling the pledges contained in the meeting’s outcome document.
14 September 2005 – The Security Council, meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government, today unanimously adopted resolutions calling on all States to reinforce the battle against terrorism and to strengthen the Council's role in preventing conflict, particularly in Africa.
14 September 2005 – In today's globalized and interlinked world, multilateralism is more essential than ever to meet the challenges posed by poverty, terrorism and human rights abuses, world leaders addressing the United Nations Summit meeting in New York said today.
14 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today notified the Security Council of his intention to appoint a veteran United Nations civil servant his Special Representative in Cyprus and head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
13 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the final draft of a declaration for the World Summit opening tomorrow at United Nations Headquarters in New York as a good instrument he could work with, although he did not get everything he wanted, but he deplored the omission of non-proliferation and disarmament issues.
13 September 2005 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission monitoring the Temporary Security Zone between Ethiopia and Eritrea until mid-March, but it expressed concern about the high concentration nearby of troops from the two countries, which waged a two-year border war.
13 September 2005 – The Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan for a year from the middle of next month and called upon United Nations Member States to commit more personnel, equipment and funds so that the force can work more effectively.
12 September 2005 – The head of the United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri arrived in Syria today to continue the probe he launched after an earlier mission found Lebanon's own investigation seriously flawed and Syria primarily responsible for the political tension preceding the murder.
12 September 2005 – With less than two days left before the United Nations hosts the largest ever gathering of global leaders, and the Summit document still mired in discord, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today intensified his diplomatic efforts, postponing a news conference in a bid to secure a compromise of "give and take" from Member States.
9 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned today that he was “very concerned” that agreement might not be reached in time on a draft document for next week’s World Summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York, and he urged “more give and take” from Member States.
8 September 2005 – Liberians have made steady progress in preparing for the October national elections, but the re-integration of ex-combatants, vital to heading off the re-recruitment of fighters and an increase in crime, is facing a funding shortfall, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
8 September 2005 – The top United Nations envoy in Iraq today voiced serious concern over the human rights situation in the war-torn country, including allegations of extra-judicial executions, consistent reports of excessive use of force and mass detentions of people without warrants, and the displacement of populations in security operations.
8 September 2005 – A top United Nations official met today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the latest progress in promoting free elections in Lebanon and ridding the country of foreign influence and militias.
8 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has a sent a letter to all United Nations staff calling for renewed dedication to the ideals embodied by the world organization after the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme found both misadministration and evidence of corruption.
7 September 2005 – United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council extend the mandate of the peacekeeping mission stationed between Ethiopia and Eritrea until mid-March and has called on the international community to intensify its effort to bring the two Governments together after their border war.
7 September 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today underscored the “vital importance” of enacting management reforms in the United Nations after the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) into the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme delivered its final report to the Security Council, finding both misadministration and evidence of corruption.
7 September 2005 – In presenting his final report on the Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme to the United Nations Security Council today, Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) Chairman Paul Volcker criticized the Secretariat, spread blame widely among Member States and the Council and stressed the urgency of restoring the credibility of a unique organization.
7 September 2005 – Five investigators have been appointed to the Group of Experts for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to monitor the Security Council arms embargo against that country’s militias under a mandate expiring next January, the United Nations spokesman said today.
6 September 2005 – The United Nations commission that was in charge of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) said that nine more sites subject to its monitoring have been cleaned to varying degrees since May of this year, bringing the total of such sites cleaned to 118.
6 September 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today voted to expand the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) temporarily to cover the preparations and holding of nationwide elections next year, the largest and most expensive ever assisted by the world body.
6 September 2005 – With a big jump in donor funding to $27.8 million, the United Nations office responsible for crime prevention has called on its members to adopt universal protocols and border cooperation to strengthen the worldwide partnership against terrorism, drugs, organized crime and corruption, according to a new report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
2 September 2005 – The United Nations human rights chief said today a rapidly changing China had great potential in the area of human rights but she also raised a number of concerns with leading officials, including the system known as re-education through labour and the extensive use of the death penalty.
1 September 2005 – A day after naming four more high-level suspects, the United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri announced today that it would seek an extension of its three-month mandate to complete its work.
1 September 2005 – The Philippines today took over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for the month of September.
1 September 2005 – The United Nations Security Council has authorized Secretary-General Kofi Annan to provide $103 million to the peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for logistic support as voters register for the upcoming election in the vast country.
31 August 2005 – With the six-year-old United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone set to close its doors in January, the Security Council today authorized the establishment of a follow-on UN integrated office to help achieve long-term stability and sustainable development as the West African country continues to recover from a bloody civil war during the 1990s.
31 August 2005 – The peace process in the Côte d’Ivoire has moved from globalization, with United Nations involvement, to Africanization, with African Union (AU) mediation, and now Ivorians must take responsibility for nationalizing the next steps, the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the West African country said today.
30 August 2005 – The United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri identified three former heads of Lebanese intelligence and security agencies and a former member of parliament as suspects in the car bombing that also killed 20 other people, a UN spokesperson said today.
30 August 2005 – The newly elected Burundian Government, led by former rebels, faces the challenges of voter expectations for an improved economy, the reduction of high unemployment and an end to Tutsi-Hutu ethnic strife and persistent impunity for massacres and military coups, a senior United Nations official said today.
30 August 2005 – With peace talks between the Sudanese Government and rebel factions based in the western Darfur region set to reopen on 15 September in Abuja, Nigeria, the United Nations Security Council today strongly urged the parties to quickly reach agreement to end the two-year civil war that has killed nearly 180,000 people and driven more than 2 million from their homes.
29 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he would begin sending Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resources right away to help meet deadlines in the biggest and most expensive electoral process the world body has ever helped organize, even before the Security Council formally approves his recommendations.
29 August 2005 – Despite isolated clashes involving martial arts and political opposition groups, the overall situation in Timor-Leste has remained “calm and stable” since May, when the Catholic Church and the Timorese Government peacefully resolved their dispute over religious teaching in schools, the senior United Nations envoy for the world’s newest country reported to the Security Council today.
29 August 2005 – Venezuela, citing historical ties, has offered to assist Haiti in the areas of energy, education and economic development, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country, Juan Gabriel Valdés, said.
26 August 2005 – Today’s inauguration of newly elected President Pierre Nkurunziza as the first post-transitional head of state in Burundi after years of ethnic conflict, shows the determination of the Central African country’s people to conclude the unprecedented transitional process successfully, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.
26 August 2005 – The head of the United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons today had a “constructive” meeting with a senior Iranian official on ways to resolve issues over the country’s nuclear programme.
25 August 2005 – The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) reported today that four militia groups in the western part of the war-divided country have agreed to join in a ceremony marking their intention to disarm and demobilize.
25 August 2005 – A United Nations peacekeeper in Haiti was shot in the leg and seriously wounded when his patrol came under fire from armed bands in Port-au-Prince, the capital, yesterday as violence in the city continued to raise serious concerns.
25 August 2005 – Welcoming the Iraqi Government’s constructive engagement in the ongoing inquiry into the fate of Kuwaitis who went missing in Iraq after the 1990 invasion of their country, the United Nations Security Council today expressed confidence that the parties involved would work to ensure that all outstanding issues were satisfactorily addressed.
25 August 2005 – Underlining its support for the United Nations commission investigating the assassination last February of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Security Council today reiterated its call for all States and all parties, especially those which have yet to respond adequately, to provide any information that can help solve the crime.
25 August 2005 – Serious gender disparities, if not addressed, could frustrate sustainable development in Sierra Leone as it recovers from its long civil war, a top United Nations envoy to the West African country said yesterday.
24 August 2005 – Questioned about United States Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson's call yesterday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a United Nations spokesman today stressed that the world body does not condone any comments that incite violence against a democratically elected head of State.
24 August 2005 – The United Nations Special Envoy for the Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, Martti Ahtisaari, will travel to Addis Ababa tomorrow as part of a four-day visit to Ethiopia, a nation beleaguered by a year of erratic rain and the lingering economic effects of a two-year war with Eritrea, and with half a million children predicted to die from disease and malnutrition this year.
24 August 2005 – The residual United Nations mission in Timor-Leste is placing special emphasis on setting up a framework for sustainable international development assistance by the end of its mandate next May, according to Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s latest report.
24 August 2005 – With the first stage of Israel’s "watershed" disengagement from the Gaza Strip nearly completed – although the work for security forces on both sides is far from over – the United Nations political affairs chief today called on all Palestinian factions to reject violence and pursue their goals through peaceful and democratic means.
23 August 2005 – With preparations for Afghanistan’s legislative elections taking place in the shadow of escalating violence, the United Nations Security Council today condemned “terrorist acts or other forms of violence” aimed at disrupting the political process, and called on the international community to make up a nearly $30 million shortfall to fund the poll.
23 August 2005 – The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire today denounced declarations calling for a coup in the West African country as exacerbating existing social and political tensions and impeding efforts to restore peace and stability to the divided country.
22 August 2005 – Despite many difficulties, the current momentum in Côte d’Ivoire is positive as it gears up for October elections, the United Nations High Representative for the elections, Antonio Monteiro, said as he wrapped up his first visit to the West African country emerging from conflict.
19 August 2005 – A new tool in the war on hunger in Indonesia was unveiled today by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Ministry of Agriculture, a 135-page compilation of colour-coded maps and charts that provides the first comprehensive analysis of all the many dimensions of food insecurity.
19 August 2005 – The Security Council today called on Côte d’Ivoire’s authorities to ensure that the United Nations peacekeeping forces can move about freely and that the upcoming electoral campaigns in the West African country can be held on time in October and in a peaceful atmosphere.
19 August 2005 – With a Supreme Court of Justice ruling due to be handed down deciding the outcome of Guinea-Bissau's presidential elections, the United Nations Security Council today commended the country for holding successful elections and urged the candidates to accept the Court's decision.
19 August 2005 – From its Headquarters in New York to front-line missions in the field, from solemn minutes of silence to impassioned tribute to the fallen, the entire United Nations system today marked the second anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad, one of the darkest days in the world body's history.
18 August 2005 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire, back from a meeting in South Africa with the African Union (AU) mediator on the West African country’s political problems, today said there was no objective reason why the peace process should not go forward.
18 August 2005 – While deaths from clashes between Sudanese Government forces and armed factions in Darfur have declined, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in a new report that the ensuing “descent into lawlessness” – looting and rebel attacks against civilians and aid workers – has only intensified insecurity in the war-torn region.
18 August 2005 – The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is making its vehicles, airplanes and helicopters available to the national electoral commission as it distributes materials for what will be the biggest and most expensive elections the world body has ever helped to conduct.
17 August 2005 – Voter registration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is proceeding according to plan, but a number of logistical problems could cause some delays in what will be the largest elections ever assisted by the United Nations, UN peacekeeping officials said today.
17 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has notified the Security Council that he will request funds from the organization’s regular budget to help pay for the crucial implementation of the World Court ruling on the demarcation of the land and sea border between Nigeria and Cameroon.
17 August 2005 – The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire has welcomed the commitment of the armed groups in the western region of the West African country to start disarming next Wednesday.
16 August 2005 – While the upcoming parliamentary and provincial elections that will complete Afghanistan’s political transition are a vital step, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan warns in a new report that the overall objective – to restore peace and stability in the war-torn country under very difficult circumstances – remains to be met.
16 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed his sorrow at the helicopter crash that killed 17 Spanish military personnel serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
16 August 2005 – The United Nations Security Council has called on the parties in Sri Lanka to fully observe the ceasefire agreement between the Government and Tamil separatists following the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
16 August 2005 – The United Nations mission in Haiti today condemned a rising rate of shooting deaths and presumed lynchings in the last two weeks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and appealed for calm at a time when the priorities included establishing security and ensuring the return of a normal economic and social life.
15 August 2005 – The United Nations envoys assisting with peacemaking in Côte d’Ivoire left today for South Africa to undertake further talks with President Thabo Mbeki, the African Union’s mediator for the Ivorian conflict, after discussing the situation in the divided country with the rebel Forces Nouvelles.
12 August 2005 – In a new report on the fate of Kuwaitis who went missing in Iraq after the 1990 invasion of their country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he is hopeful that with the expanding activities of Kuwaiti investigative teams and increased cooperation by the new Iraqi authorities, more human remains will eventually be brought to Kuwait and more missing persons files can be closed.
12 August 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today expressed regret that the movements of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire were being impeded and he called on Ivorians to "refrain from any action that may undermine the peace process."
12 August 2005 – The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) today observed the first anniversary of a massacre of more than 150 people from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the Gatumba refugee transit centre in Burundi and repeated its call to the Government of Burundi to complete the initial investigation.
11 August 2005 – Even if reform of the United Nations Security Council is not accomplished at the September World Summit, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged momentum be maintained to make it happen before the end of the year.
11 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all political, religious and civil society leaders in Iraq to exercise the vision and the political will needed to come to an agreement on the new national constitution in the next few days.
11 August 2005 – The Security Council today unanimously renewed for a further year the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), whose tasks range from coordinating various humanitarian operations to helping the war-torn country draft a new constitution and organize fresh elections by the end of the year.
11 August 2005 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan today attended the swearing in ceremony of Salva Kiir, a former southern rebel commander, as the country's new First Vice-President, following the death of his predecessor John Garang in a helicopter crash two weeks ago.
11 August 2005 – The United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons today called on Iran to reverse its decision to resume uranium conversion activities, noting that outstanding issues relating to the country's nuclear programme have yet to be resolved.
11 August 2005 – The United Nations Security Council met behind closed doors today to discuss a resolution put forward by France on the constitutional referendum and upcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Council President for August said.
10 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he had received indications from both Iran and European negotiators that they would continue their search for a solution to the oil producer’s nuclear programme, which some countries, including the United States, see as an effort to produce nuclear weapons.
10 August 2005 – With Burundi's just-completed round of elections marking another positive step along its road to stability after decades of ethnic strife, the five-year-old United Nations-backed panel set up to oversee the peace process has wrapped up its work and pledged to support the nascent Government through the end of the electoral process next September.
10 August 2005 – The United Nations will act vigorously to ensure there are no more “bad apples” in its procurement department, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, pledging that the corruption outlined yesterday in the latest report from the investigative panel probing the Iraq Oil-for-Food-programme “will not happen again.”
10 August 2005 – The United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the Bel Air shanty town have continued their fight against kidnapping in the district by finding a man who had been seized the day before and they said abduction has decreased significantly since the middle of last month.
9 August 2005 – With the 15 August deadline to complete Iraq's draft constitution fast-approaching, the senior United Nations envoy in Baghdad and the Security Council in New York today held discussions on ways the world body can support the country's ongoing political transition, including planned elections.
9 August 2005 – The United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons met today to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme, a day after the major oil producer re-started activities at a uranium conversion plant, with its chief hoping the present problem is “simply a hiccup in the process and not a permanent rupture.”
8 August 2005 – Voicing deep concern at the latest report by the independent commission probing the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme for Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today waived the immunity of a former procurement officer accused of soliciting kickbacks, said he would do the same for another official implicated in the case and pledged to act quickly to strengthen controls over the procurement process.
8 August 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has for the past year kept up the hope that the parties in Western Sahara would break the current deadlock in the peace process so that the 14-year-old United Nations mission organizing a referendum for the territory could help them reach a mutually acceptable political solution, according to a new report.
8 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomes a decision by the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Transitional Government to disarm a Rwandan rebel militia on DRC territory by force after it failed to honour its pledges to disarm and return home.
5 August 2005 – Citing the efforts the expanding United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has made to help Iraqis meet the benchmarks in their political transition, despite severe operational and security constraints, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked the Security Council to extend the mission's mandate until August of next year.
5 August 2005 – The Georgian and Abkhaz sides have reiterated their commitment at a United Nations-sponsored meeting to use only peaceful means to settle the conflict in north-west Georgia, where Georgian Government and Abkhaz separatist forces fought a war 11 years ago that forced nearly 300,000 refugees to flee.
5 August 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today informed the Security Council that he will appoint a seasoned United Nations diplomat, Francesco Bastagli of Italy, to head up the 14-year-old UN mission responsible for organizing a referendum for the Western Sahara.
5 August 2005 – The Board of Governors of the United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons will meet on Tuesday at the request of European countries to discuss latest developments following Iran's announcement that it will resume activities at a uranium conversion plant, it was announced today.
5 August 2005 – With the General Assembly’s 2005 World Summit less than six weeks away, senior United Nations officials today presented an early look at what global leaders might adopt when they gather in September to mark the world body’s sixtieth anniversary and forge a new global consensus on development, security, human rights and UN reform.
4 August 2005 – Condemning the recent wave of "horrific" terror attacks in Iraq, the United Nations Security Council today called on Member States to cooperate in stanching the flow of terrorists in and out of Iraq and preventing the disruption of the ongoing political process.
4 August 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported calm in the capital, Khartoum, and in the south following three days of unrest sparked by the death in helicopter crash last Saturday of first Vice-President and former southern rebel leader John Garang.
3 August 2005 – When the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) withdraws at the end of the year, the world body hopes to field a 300-member integrated support team which would not replace present UN agencies, but would provide technical support to the Government as the country emerges from civil strife, a senior UN official says.
3 August 2005 – The United Nations agency entrusted with curbing the spread of nuclear weapons today again called on Iran not to resume any uranium activities pending the installation of surveillance equipment by the middle of next week.
2 August 2005 – The United Nations would work closely with the Government of Sierra Leone on consolidating peace after the West African country's long civil conflict by addressing such underlying causes as deficits in governance, human rights observance and the rule of law, according to proposals from Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
2 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on Iran not to restart its nuclear activities before receiving the latest European proposals aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the issue arising out of Tehran's two decades-long concealment of its nuclear activities in breach of its treaty obligations.
2 August 2005 – Although the United Nations Security Council’s work programme for August would be relatively light, the 15-nation body’s president for the month today said that it would nevertheless follow closely key international events, including the mid-month deadline for the drafting of an Iraqi constitution, and, at month’s end, the completion of the so-called Bonn processes, which set Afghanistan on the road stability in 2001.
2 August 2005 – As the United Nations mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported ongoing violence in and around the capital, Khartoum, after the death of Vice-President and ex-southern rebel leader John Garang, the Security Council today called for calm and urged the world to rally around the Sudanese people to help them shore up the country's fledgling peace process.
2 August 2005 – Mourning the death of Saudi Arabian King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, the United Nations Security Council today paid tribute to what Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday called the long-time Saudi leader’s “enduring contributions” to international and regional diplomacy.
2 August 2005 – In an annual ceremony performed in advance of an upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thailand was selected to occupy a front-row spot that will determine the order of seating in the General Assembly Hall during the sixtieth session of the UN's main deliberative body that begins in September.
1 August 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed a former member of the administration of former United States President Bill Clinton to be his Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery under Mr. Clinton, who serves as the Special Envoy.
1 August 2005 – With the Security Council having adopted a resolution to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism on safeguarding children during armed conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today praised its architect, Ugandan-born Olara Otunnu, for raising the profile of UN child protection efforts.
30 July 2005 – Welcoming the vote of confidence that has formally established Lebanon's new Government, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today pledged the world body's full support as the country works to consolidate stability.
29 July 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed a five-member panel of experts to go to Liberia to assess the implementation and impact of the United Nations Security Council's sanctions regime imposed on the war-devastated country, which includes a ban on timber exports in addition to existing travel, arms and diamond embargoes.
29 July 2005 – The expert panel recommending ways of improving the arms embargo on Côte d’Ivoire has called on the Security Council to more tightly define the ban on weapons flows in the divided country after encountering “widespread confusion” among neighbouring West African countries, civil society groups and United Nations officials themselves.
29 July 2005 – Renewing for another 17 months its global sanctions regime against Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden and the Taliban, the United Nations Security Council today expanded the list of persons or splinter groups associated with terrorist networks.
29 July 2005 – In a flurry of month-end activity, the United Nations Security Council today extended by six months the mandates of both its monitoring force in the "Blue Line" between Israel and Lebanon, and its force monitoring a ceasefire accord between the Government of Georgia and Abkhaz authorities in north-west Georgia.
29 July 2005 – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights today named special experts to look into the rights situation in Sudan and Uzbekistan.
28 July 2005 – The United Nations mission in Haiti is making slow headway on the many challenges it faces, but lacks specialized capabilities for the urban confrontations it experiences daily, the head of UN peacekeeping said today.
28 July 2005 – Based on their discussions at a recent United Nations-sponsored conference in Turkey, 35 Palestinian, Israeli and international women leaders and activists have established the first-ever global commission working to guarantee women’s full participation in formal and informal Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) said today.
28 July 2005 – The United Nations Compensation Commission paying damages to those who suffered during Iraq's 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait today announced the disbursement of nearly $200 million, bringing the total paid out to date to about $19.4 billion.
27 July 2005 – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has applauded the UN Security Council resolution that establishes a monitoring and reporting system for children affected by armed conflict.
27 July 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan said to day the “brutal and barbaric” murder of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq once again made it all the more urgent for the United Nations to complete a convention against all forms of terrorism by the end of this year.
27 July 2005 – Even though the Cold War geo-political divide had faded, new threats such as terrorism now affect the stability and security of Indian Ocean countries, obliging all States to cooperate in implementing a 35-year-old United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for an end to military build-up in the region, the chairman of UN ad hoc panel has urged.
27 July 2005 – Faced with Rwandan and Ugandan delays in providing information on a variety of security and economic matters relating to neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations-appointed monitors have recommended that the UN Security Council extend DRC arms and other sanctions well beyond the elections scheduled to take place later this year.
27 July 2005 – Unequivocally condemning last Saturday's "horrendous" terrorist attack in Sharm el-Sheikh, the United Nations Security Council today urged all States to cooperate with the Egyptian authorities to bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of that attack.
27 July 2005 – The Commission of Experts that reviewed the prosecution of serious crimes in Timor-Leste in 1999 has recommended that Indonesia strengthen its legal capacity, that its Attorney General’s Office review its prosecutions and that some cases be reopened as may be appropriate.
27 July 2005 – The United Nations Special Envoy on housing evictions in Zimbabwe today briefed the Security Council on her two-week visit to the southern African country where the demolition of housing and markets have left some 700,000 people without homes or businesses.
26 July 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the prospective return of Iraq's Sunni Arab representatives to the committee drafting the strife-torn country's new constitution following their withdrawal last week after two of their members were assassinated, and pledged continued United Nations support for the political transition.
26 July 2005 – United Nations peacekeeping forces in Côte d'Ivoire today entered the town of Agboville, 70 kilometres north of Abidjan, the strife-torn West African country's major city, after being blocked for 48 hours in their efforts to help restore calm following attacks by unidentified assailants.
26 July 2005 – With 2 million children killed and 6 million injured in wars over the past decade, the United Nations Security Council, in a landmark resolution, today unanimously condemned the continued recruitment of child soldiers and approved setting up a mechanism for monitoring, reporting on and punishing those responsible.
25 July 2005 – Acknowledging that recent challenges have eroded confidence in the ability of multilateral institutions to respond, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said “moments of crisis carry seeds of opportunity,” offering the UN and regional organizations the chance to work together more closely on peacebuilding and peacekeeping.
25 July 2005 – With elections in Côte d'Ivoire barely three months away, the United Nations 6,500-strong force has been put on alert and is sending military units to help restore calm after an attack by unidentified assailants on a Gendarme brigade and police station in Anyama, north of Abidjan, the strife-torn West African country's major city.
25 July 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that in a discussion with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe he stressed that the southern African country's housing and market evictions must be stopped and those made homeless, estimated in a UN report at 700,000, must be adequately housed.
22 July 2005 – While the international community’s humanitarian, political and African-led military strategy for peace and stability in Sudan was finally bearing fruit, the situation was still extremely fragile, particularly for millions of people in war-torn Darfur, and would perhaps require decades of sustained efforts to set right, the top United Nations envoy for Sudan warned today.
22 July 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today called on international donors and financial institutions to ‘generously’ assist the fragile, newly-elected institutions in the Central African Republic (CAR), stressing that their support will be essential for the impoverished country’s socio-economic recovery.
21 July 2005 – While it is essential for both Israel and the Palestinians not to lose sight of the immediate goal – Israel’s disengagement from Gaza – relations between the two sides are being marred because no agreed framework exists for that pull-out, or for what will happen next, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council today.
20 July 2005 – Recommending a six-month extension of the United Nations peace-monitoring force's mandate in the so-called Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that even during a period of relative calm, recent incidents of violence demonstrate once more that the situation remains "volatile and fragile."
20 July 2005 – Reiterating its strong condemnation of recent terrorist incidents, from the deadly attacks which rocked London’s transport system to assassination of Egypt’s ambassador-designate in Iraq, the United Nations Security Council today urged all States to work together to bring to justice, extradite or prosecute, the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of acts of terrorism.
20 July 2005 – A four-member expert panel appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to monitor an arms embargo in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region will be leaving soon for the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa where it is to be based.
20 July 2005 – Backed by air power in a major new operation code-named "Thunder Storm," United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today launched their third offensive in just over two weeks to oust Rwandan Hutu militia who daily harass local communities, burning a rebel base camp.
20 July 2005 – A Sierra Leonean court that was established in 1819 for the trial of ex-combatants after the Napoleonic war in England but was burned down 180 years later by rebels in the West African country's civil war has been renovated and refurbished by the United Nations.
20 July 2005 – Following up on a United Nations seminar, a group of Haitian women have launched a support network for women candidates in the upcoming elections in the impoverished Caribbean country.
18 July 2005 – Even in the midst of a far-reaching debate on organizational reform, the United Nations would not be distracted from certain urgent tasks, particularly the need to resolve protracted conflicts and ensure that countries in difficult transitions received the support they needed, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told a world conference in Iran on UN renewal.
18 July 2005 – A senior United Nations official today briefed European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers on the situation in Lebanon, including the withdrawal of Syrian military and intelligence personnel and the disarming and disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias as mandated by the UN Security Council.
18 July 2005 – With nearly 80,000 personnel serving in United Nations peacekeeping missions, UN agencies have made strides in educating mission personnel about preventing HIV infection, but troop contributing countries must do their part, senior UN officials said today.
18 July 2005 – The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) today called on the international community to go beyond mere awareness of the gender dimensions of war and peace and buttress women's participation in preventing and resolving national and local conflicts.
18 July 2005 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan is headed to The Hague, to meet with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating 51 people suspected of committing war crimes in the war-torn Darfur region.
17 July 2005 – Senior officials from Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – all countries that have expressed their desire to become permanent members of the Security Council – met today with Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York ahead of key negotiations on the issue of United Nations reform.
15 July 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has notified the Security Council of his intention to appoint the principal deputy chief of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire as the new chief of the mission in Liberia, a UN spokeswoman said today.
15 July 2005 – The new United Nations High Representative for the Elections in war-scarred and ethnically divided Côte d'Ivoire will be former Portuguese Foreign Minister António Monteiro, a UN spokeswoman said today.
14 July 2005 – Pressing ahead with his proposal to enlarge the United Nations Security Council, which has primary responsibility for the maintenance of global peace and security, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the 15-member body is not sufficiently democratic or representative of the world organization’s vastly increased membership.
14 July 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today encouraged the Presidency of Sudan's newly inaugurated Government of National Unity and other parties to take urgent steps to resolve the crisis in the Darfur region through peaceful means, and to be prepared to make decisive progress when talks between the Government and rebel factions resume next month.
14 July 2005 – Expressing concern that "recent disagreements and increased tensions" threaten the viability of Transitional Federal Institutions being relocated to Somalia from Kenya, the United Nations Security Council today urged the Somali leadership to reduce tensions and conclude a comprehensive and verifiable ceasefire agreement leading to final disarmament.
13 July 2005 – As the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ends its political transition after years of civil war and prepares for general elections, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan estimates that adding to the peacekeeping mission for the yearlong run-up to the elections will cost nearly $190 million.
13 July 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today condemned "with the utmost firmness" the weekend massacre of dozens of people in a village in the South Kivu region in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and called on the UN mission to investigate the tragedy and report back as quickly as possible.
12 July 2005 – Condemning the car bombing north of Beirut, which wounded Lebanon's Defense Minister and killed two people today, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council strongly urged the Lebanese Government to exert every effort to bring to justice those behind this and previous crimes that appear aimed at destabilizing the country.
12 July 2005 – With the General Assembly in the middle of its first round of open debate on Security Council reform and with views, so far, varying widely on how to bring the 15-nation body into the 21st century, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he was confident that, realizing what is at stake, the Assembly would “pull together and ensure that we have a sensible agreement.”
12 July 2005 – Some 1,700 small white cups containing freshly brewed coffee stand on a bed of soil in the Visitors’ Lobby of United Nations Headquarters in New York this week, a poignant memorial to the thousands of Bosnians slaughtered in the Security Council-proclaimed “safe area” of Srebrenica exactly 10 years ago.
12 July 2005 – The Security Council's caseload of war-torn countries has spotlighted the need for the United Nations to pre-empt crises and to ensure that its peacebuilding efforts include long-term engagement and ways to help strengthen institutions that provide security and justice based on the rule of law, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
11 July 2005 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in Belgium today taking part in a donors' conference organized by the European Union (EU) to raise funds for the electoral process under way in the central African country as it emerges from years of violence, the mission said.
11 July 2005 – Commemorating the sombre 10th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica – Europe's worst massacre since World War II – senior United Nations officials today vowed to “continue the fight…to secure a full and proper reckoning” for the families of some 8,000 Muslims killed by the Bosnian Serb forces who overran the town designated by the Security Council as a "safe area."
11 July 2005 – With no bilateral agreement on the boundary demarcation between Ethiopia and Eritrea so far, the United Nations Security Council today said its options for resolving the stalemate included a meeting of the witnesses to the relevant peace accords and a possible Council visit to both Horn of Africa countries.
8 July 2005 – A law student at the University of Kinshasa has become the millionth voter to register in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) capital city of several million people for elections in the country emerging from conflict.
8 July 2005 – The Security Council today condemned the assassination of Ihab al-Sherif, Egypt's ambassador-designate to Iraq, and all terrorist attacks in that country, including the attempted assassinations of diplomats from Bahrain and Pakistan as well as attacks against other civilian personnel.
8 July 2005 – Despite some progress, the killing of jailed suspects in Nigeria, the jailing of innocent citizens for refusing to pay bribes, the fraudulent placement of evidence, and the imposition of the death penalty by Muslim courts out of all proportion to the alleged offence are all too common in Africa's most populous country, the United Nations expert on extrajudicial killings said today.
7 July 2005 – Long-term aid for Africa must remain at the top of the agenda for Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and the leaders of the world's other industrial powers meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, despite the "barbaric" terrorist attacks in London earlier this morning, the new United Nations Political Affairs chief said today.
7 July 2005 – With elections in Côte d'Ivoire scheduled for October, all the parties involved must undertake the difficult tasks that will ensure that the electoral process is successful and major national problems are solved, according to a report sent to the United Nations Security Council on the implementation of the West African country's peace accords.
7 July 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today deplored "the atrocious bombings" that rocked London's public transport system as "an attack on humanity itself," and urged that such violence not be allowed to derail efforts to combat poverty and address the aspirations of billions of people worldwide.
6 July 2005 – With the people of Burundi having completed their first legislative elections in 12 years, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan congratulated them today on showing "a high sense of civic responsibility and political maturity."
6 July 2005 – With the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and opposition leaders having reached an agreement on a timeline for implementing a stalled peace plan, the United Nations Security Council today demanded that all Ivorian parties and signatories “scrupulously comply” with all aspects of the new deal.
6 July 2005 – As part of the United Nations commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica, Mark Malloch Brown, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Chief of Staff, next week will head to the town that was the site of a massacre of Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces after they took over the town designated by the Security Council as a "safe area."
6 July 2005 – With the swearing in of Bougainville's first autonomous provincial Government last month, the United Nations Observer Mission (UNOMB) had successfully completed its work and Papua New Guinea had taken a milestone step, which ended years-long secessionist fighting on the island, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.
5 July 2005 – As the United Nations prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica during the Balkan wars, a senior official has reaffirmed the UN's commitment to help heal the wounds in the town that was the site of a massacre of Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces after they took over the town designated by the Security Council as a "safe area."
5 July 2005 – The Security Council will devote a considerable amount of its time this month to various situations on the African continent, and will also spotlight the Council's role in humanitarian crises, the new President of the 15-nation body said today.
4 July 2005 – Addressing leaders of the African continent meeting today in Libya, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the launch of a new initiative to financially support States undergoing the democratization process.
4 July 2005 – Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized countries are expected to back a number of development initiatives that can constitute a step towards greater progress for the world's poor, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in Libya.
1 July 2005 – Activity at the United Nations war crimes court investigating cases stemming from the 1994 Rwanda genocide "was at an all-time high," with an unprecedented number of trials under way, Adama Dieng Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), said today.
1 July 2005 – With its emergency situation ended and its elections behind it, the Central African Republic (CAR) “has the tools needed to embark resolutely on the path of peace, reconstruction and sustainable development,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
30 June 2005 – The greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world today is in southern Africa, where more than 8 million people face starvation, and a "lethal mix" of AIDS, recurring drought and failing governance is slowly destroying social structures and undermining peace and security, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.
30 June 2005 – The Security Council and the United Nations envoy for southern Lebanon today deplored the Hezbollah militia's attacks from Lebanon against Israel and Israel's forceful response, calling on the Lebanese Government to end all attacks from its territory and on Israel to refrain from violating Lebanon's air space.
30 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone for a final six months, until the end of the year, and charged the national security forces with keeping order thereafter in the West African country which is recovering from a long civil war.
29 June 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan met this afternoon with members of the Security Council to provide an update on the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), which is headed by former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and is looking into the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq.
29 June 2005 – There is a "significant amount of credible information" to show that grave crimes have taken place in Sudan's Darfur region, and every effort will be made to identify those who bear the greatest responsibility, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the United Nations Security Council today.
29 June 2005 – To rebuild trust with the people of Somalia and the international community, Somali leaders must begin a serious dialogue to heal their divisions and end the controversy over the relocation of the fledgling government and its institutions from Kenya to Somalia, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
29 June 2005 – With the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s parliament having extended the political transition for six months from tomorrow, the United Nations Security Council today called on the Congolese parties to prepare to conduct elections peacefully and on the DRC Government to be transparent in its financial dealings.
28 June 2005 – With a peace agreement ending the decades-long civil war in southern Sudan and the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is calling on international donors and the Sudanese parties to meet high expectations for significant improvement in the situation on the ground.
28 June 2005 – United Nations Headquarters in New York celebrated the world organization's 60th birthday this month by offering nearly 9,000 free Sunday tours in an effort to further inform the public of its work in tackling global crises.
28 June 2005 – Expressing concern over shooting in the security area separating Eritrea and Ethiopia, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the Security Council to advance the resolution of the boundary dispute by visiting both Horn of Africa countries.
27 June 2005 – Amid mounting international concern over the forced deportation of Uzbek asylum-seekers who fled the recent military crackdown in their country to find safety in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, the assistant United Nations refugee chief today pledged to help the Kyrgyz Government protect the displaced during the search for durable solutions.
27 June 2005 – Wrapping up a five-day fact-finding visit to Haiti, United Nations peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guéhenno said the mandate the Security Council approved for the UN mission last week provided for tighter security in the Caribbean country in which several peacekeeping troops have recently been killed or wounded.
24 June 2005 – The ongoing insecurity and re-emergence of violence affecting preparations for Afghanistan’s upcoming elections was being made worse by rampant corruption and fallout from the country’s thriving drug trade, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today.
24 June 2005 – Despite some “pockets” of stability, displaced persons and returnees in the strife-racked Sudanese region of Darfur still face unpredictability, threats of violence, and under-funded protection services, according a field report of the United Nations refugee agency charged with protection of vulnerable persons.
24 June 2005 – Despite tangible signs of progress in Liberia – notably its successful voter registration exercise and gains in strengthening the police force – significant challenges still need to be urgently addressed, including dealing with ex-combatants who are now resorting to violence and threatening to disrupt upcoming elections, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
24 June 2005 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire and boosted its troop strength by less than half of what the head of mission requested. It also authorized Secretary-General Kofi Annan to initiate plans to redeploy troops, if necessary, from UN missions in nearby Liberia and Sierra Leone to help quell the simmering tensions in the divided country.
24 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today endorsed the transfer of more than $220 million from the escrow account set up under the former UN arms inspection regime into accounts for the country's development and the repayment of its UN arrears.
24 June 2005 – Wrapping up a 5-day trip to Haiti, the United Nations peacekeeping chief is slated to visit the northern port of Cap-Haïtien this weekend, to review the situation with the military, civilian and police leadership of the UN mission there, a UN spokesperson said today.
23 June 2005 – The Security Council is set to vote tomorrow on a resolution to expand the 6,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire by some 850 troops – less than half of the 2,000 personnel the United Nations says it needs to prevent the situation in the country from deteriorating.
23 June 2005 – The United Nations General Assembly today opened its first-ever interactive sessions with civil society groups who will present proposals on security, human rights, development and UN renewal, ahead of a landmark summit in September commemorating the world body's 60th anniversary.
23 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today urged all political parties and candidates in Guinea-Bissau to respect the results of last week's presidential poll to restore democratic rule two years after a coup, and urged international observers to stand ready to assist as the country gears up for a run-off ballot.
23 June 2005 – The court established by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to try cases of serious crimes committed during the West African country's ferocious civil war cannot complete its work as long as former President Charles Taylor of Liberia and former Sierra Leonean coup leader Johnny Paul Koroma remain at large, according to a new report.
22 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in Haiti for a further eight months and added more than 1,000 personnel, bringing it to as many as nearly 9,400 in the run-up to a newly elected government's inauguration next February.
22 June 2005 – In strong support of Lebanon's political independence, the United Nations Security Council today underscored the need for newly elected Lebanese authorities to exercise their full sovereignty over the entire territory, to preserve unity through national dialogue, and to respect the principles of good governance.
22 June 2005 – As the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) gears up for the eventual deployment of some 10,000 peacekeepers in the war-torn country, the top UN envoy there today heads to Uganda for talks with government officials on the possibility of opening transit routes and the pre-positioning of troops and equipment.
22 June 2005 – Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots want a settlement on the divided island, but establishing common ground between them requires what only they can provide – mutual confidence, courage, vision and political will, the United Nations chief of political affairs said today.
21 June 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today informed the Security Council of his intention to transfer the amount of $220,256,697 from the escrow account set up under the former UN arms inspection regime into accounts for the country's development and the repayment of its UN arrears.
21 June 2005 – The United Nations' 60th anniversary summit of more than 170 heads of Government in September offers a "once-in-a generation" opportunity to make the world body more efficient at tackling global problems by adopting the reforms he has proposed, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told a US research group on security issues.
21 June 2005 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief leaves tomorrow for a five-day trip to Haiti, during which he will review the situation with senior officials of the UN mission there, a UN spokeswoman said today.
21 June 2005 – Expressing broad criticism of Liberia's Transitional Government, the United Nations Security Council today unanimously extended for six months the existing sanctions against the West African country's diamond exports, which it said have been increasing, and re-established a panel to investigate if and how funds are being raised to buy weapons to foment new violence.
21 June 2005 – There is little hope of stopping the deliberate targeting of civilians and relief workers in armed conflict without the political will to tackle impunity, provide reliable crisis funding and devise better ways to report rights violations, the United Nations Emergency Coordinator said today.
20 June 2005 – With a peace deal starting to take hold in Burundi, the United Nations Security Council today asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to begin negotiations with the Government and consultations with all Burundian parties on how to implement his recommendations for a truth commission and a special court to prosecute war crimes and human rights violations after decades of ethnic fighting.
20 June 2005 – The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) gathered momentum today, taking over operations from the multinational force monitoring a ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese Government and rebels in the Nuba Mountains region.
20 June 2005 – Nearly 500 square kilometres in Iraq have been cleared of landmines over the past year thanks to United Nations-backed efforts to rid the country of potentially deadly unexploded remnants of war, most of them seeded in densely populated regions in the centre and south, the world body announced today.
17 June 2005 – With confidence-building measures being discussed, Israelis and Palestinians are "slowly and not without difficulty" moving to coordinate implementation of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank, the senior United Nations political affairs officer told the Security Council today.
17 June 2005 – The Security Council today extended for six months the mandate of the 31-year old United Nations peacekeeping force observing the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights.
17 June 2005 – The head of the United Nations probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said today that any country failing to provide relevant information without delay will bear full responsibility "should we fail in our efforts to establish the truth" behind the murder, which led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from its smaller neighbour.
17 June 2005 – In the latest incident involving United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti, two Peruvian soldiers were shot and wounded yesterday, one seriously, in a poor district of the Caribbean country's capital, Port-au-Prince, the mission said today.
16 June 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the Iraqi agreement to expand the Constitution Drafting Committee to be more inclusive of the Sunni Arab community, long a goal of the world body's efforts to bring stability to the country after Sunni Arabs largely absented themselves from elections in January.
16 June 2005 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire has urged the major rebel group, which has expressed scepticism about several political developments, to “take risks for the return of peace.”
16 June 2005 – The United Nations commission established to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri became fully operational today, marking the official start of its efforts to find out who was behind the murder which led ultimately to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from its smaller neighbour.
15 June 2005 – Recent tensions over preparations for Guinea-Bissau's 19 June elections demonstrate that peace and stability in the West African country remain fragile and require the continued engagement of all key national and international actors, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
15 June 2005 – A senior United Nations official today briefed the Security Council on the feasibility of setting up a truth commission in Burundi to establish the facts surrounding the years-long conflict in the central African country and promote peace and establishing a special chamber to bring war criminals to justice.
15 June 2005 – The Security Council today extended through mid-December the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the mission that monitors the ceasefire lines extending some 180 kilometres across the island.
15 June 2005 – The United Nations envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk today began a two-day mission to assess the situation in Sudan's Darfur region, during which he will visit camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and meet local authorities.
15 June 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council paid tribute to the leaders and people of Papua New Guinea for fully implementing the peace agreement that ended long secessionist fighting and culminated today with the swearing-in of the new autonomous provincial government of Bougainville island.
14 June 2005 – It is regrettable that, more than two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, the Kuwaiti national archives have not been found and returned to that country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in the latest report on property seized by Iraq during its occupation of its neighbour 14 years ago.
14 June 2005 – The chief of the United Nations mission in Sudan today headed for West Darfur to join a team scheduled to start work tomorrow on assessing how far Khartoum has gone in fulfilling its pledges to the Security Council to restore peace in the area.
13 June 2005 – With the situation in the Israel-Syria sector "generally quiet" but still lacking a political resolution, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there be extended for six months.
13 June 2005 – The top United Nations envoy in Kosovo today said that it is time for the province’s majority and minority communities to move toward the resolution of Kosovo’s status by showing that they can build a stable, tolerant, multi-ethnic and democratic society.
13 June 2005 – Now that disarmament in Liberia has ended and armed factions have been demobilized, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed the hope that the peace process will succeed and has called on the Security Council to strengthen its peacekeeping mission and prevent illicit exports of diamonds and timber.
13 June 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is encouraged by the results of talks on Syria, held between his Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen and Syrian President Bashar el-Assad, a UN spokesman said today.
13 June 2005 – The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) will probably have to conduct trials through 2009, senior court officials told the Security Council today.
10 June 2005 – Successful completion of the political transition in Iraq requires real progress in the security and living conditions of all Iraqis, as well as a constitutional process that is credible to all groups, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
10 June 2005 – Welcoming what he called "continued openness and progress in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade," the head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today met in Belgrade with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and other senior officials from Serbia and Montenegro.
9 June 2005 – With the situation in western Côte d'Ivoire remaining volatile, the United Nations peacekeeping mission today began joint patrols with local forces in and around the major cocoa marketing town of Duékoué, where brutal attacks by unidentified armed elements have left scores dead and wounded.
8 June 2005 – Saying the situation in Cyprus was calm but "still lacked a viable political solution," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there be extended for six-months, under its present authorized strength.
8 June 2005 – Donations to pay for numerous humanitarian assistance projects in drought-stricken Horn of Africa have come in well below requested levels, with the total funding gap now at $596 million, the United Nations humanitarian coordination office said today.
7 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today expressed its concern about the "destabilizing impact of political assassinations and other terrorist attacks in Lebanon" and it warned that such acts should not be permitted to jeopardize the holding of transparent and democratic parliamentary elections.
7 June 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the recent massacres of civilians in the western Côte d'Ivoire town of Duékoué, and urged Ivorian authorities to conduct an inquiry into the killings immediately so the perpetrators can be brought to justice and condemned.
7 June 2005 – The top United Nations envoy in Sudan today called for an immediate end to hostilities in Darfur, and expressed his concern that violent clashes between rebel factions in the war-torn region were continuing even as the African Union worked tirelessly to keep upcoming peace negotiations on track.
7 June 2005 – Key indictees still at large, overburdened dockets, and lack of predictable funding are highlighted as obstacles in the final phases of the work of the United Nations tribunals prosecuting war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in separate reports submitted to the Security Council today.
7 June 2005 – Rampaging militiamen have staged a series of vicious attacks on scores of civilians in the past week, forcing more than 1,000 people to flee remote villages in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations said today.
6 June 2005 – The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided to open an investigation into the situation in Darfur, Sudan, following the United Nations Security Council’s referral of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict between the Khartoum Government, allied militia and rebels in the region.
6 June 2005 – The United Nations special envoy overseeing Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon will travel to Syria “as soon as possible” for talks with the country's President, a UN spokesman said today.
5 June 2005 – United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette arrived today in Kosovo, where she is slated to hold talks with senior officials and meet with peacekeepers as part of her ongoing bid to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by blue helmets.
3 June 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Ambassador Kai Eide, Permanent Representative of Norway to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as his Special Envoy to carry out a comprehensive review of Kosovo.
3 June 2005 – The President of the United Nations General Assembly today presented an early vision of what international consensus on development, security, human rights and UN reform might look like when world leaders gather in September to commemorate the Organization’s sixtieth anniversary.
3 June 2005 – The Security Council today extended for three weeks the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire and the French troops supporting it, “with a view to renewing it for seven months” and raising the possibility that it might expand the UN operation in the West African country.
2 June 2005 – The Security Council will devote a considerable amount of its time this month to various situations on the African continent, while also closely following the events in Iraq and the wider Middle East, the President of the 15-nation body said today.
2 June 2005 – The United Nations top envoy in Sudan left the capital, Khartoum, today for the crisis-torn western Darfur region, where he is expected to meet Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and other high-level League representatives, a UN spokesman said today.
1 June 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to immediately dismiss Joseph Stephanides, a United Nations official who was linked to a tainted procurement process during the oil-for-food scandal, a spokesman for the world body announced today.
1 June 2005 – From setting up community projects to employ ex-combatants in Sierra Leone to streamlining procurement procedures for peacekeeping missions, the efforts of United Nations staff to improve the world body’s efficiency received recognition today at a ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York.
31 May 2005 – Just back from a week-long visit to Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General today said that nearly $300 million pledged by international donors to expand an African-led peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region is “a good beginning” for the next phase of the programme to stem the ongoing crisis there.
31 May 2005 – The Security Council today strongly condemned all acts of sexual abuse and exploitation committed by UN peacekeeping personnel, underlining the importance of maintaining zero tolerance for such abuses and advocating their investigation and punishment.
31 May 2005 – Determining that the situation in Haiti continues to threaten international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council this afternoon extended the mandate of the UN mission to that country until 24 June, stating its intention to extend it further at that time.
31 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the progress made in recruiting, training and equipping Iraqi security forces and looked forward to those forces progressively playing a greater role and ultimately assuming responsibility for Iraq's national security.
31 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of its peacekeeping UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) for six months until 1 December and called on the African Great Lakes country’s political actors to try harder to ensure the success of their political transition, national reconciliation and long-term stability.
27 May 2005 – Progress in Kosovo remains on track, in most priority areas, despite continued uncertainty, a change of Government and the fact that Kosovo Serbs continue to shun participation in the provisional institutions, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s representative told the United Nations Security Council today.
27 May 2005 – The new Special Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, François Lonseny Fall, was scheduled to arrive today in Nairobi, Kenya, to head the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), which is mandated to spearhead reconciliation talks in the post-conflict Horn of Africa country.
26 May 2005 – Noting concrete progress in Kosovo toward internationally-agreed standards in such areas as government reform, the rule of law and minority rights, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a report out today, stressed that continuing progress must be made in all priority areas for any future political settlement to proceed.
26 May 2005 – While acknowledging that it is only one of the parties to long-term restoration of peace in post-conflict countries, the United Nations Security Council today said it "considers post-conflict peacebuilding closely linked to its primary responsibilities."
26 May 2005 – The head of the United Nations commission established to investigate the fatal bombing attack on former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri arrived in Beirut today.
25 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed Ambassador Joël W. Adechi of Benin his Deputy Special Representative (DSRSG) with the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE), effective early June.
25 May 2005 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed an agreement by the Government and armed opposition in Côte d'Ivoire to undertake a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process (DDR), calling it major progress towards fulfilment of the Pretoria Agreement as mediated by South Africa.
25 May 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's representative for Iraq has met with France's Foreign Minister and other senior French officials for talks that focused on preparations for the ministerial meeting on Iraq to be held on 22 June in Brussels.
24 May 2005 – Human rights in the context of United Nations reform was squarely on the minds of student leaders who engaged members of the UN diplomatic community today in a unique dialogue on global issues.
24 May 2005 – The court established by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to try cases of serious crimes committed during the West African country's bloody civil war was doing historic work but faced an imminent funding shortfall, the tribunal's President told the UN Security Council today.
24 May 2005 – The head of the United Nations commission established to investigate the fatal bombing attack on former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said today that his team would do its very best to identify "who planned, facilitated and carried out this terrible crime against totally innocent people."
23 May 2005 – Progress has been made in Burundi's peace process, but it is not yet irreversible and the peacebuilding United Nations Office in Burundi (ONUB) should maintain its strength of more than 5,000 personnel as its mandate is extended for another six months until December, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommends.
23 May 2005 – Audits of both Iraq's oil export sales and a fund to manage the revenue continue to show a lack of accounting records, slow spending reports by Iraqi ministries and the absence of other control measures, according to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq (IAMB).
23 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is set to co-chair a pledging conference on Thursday to support the African Union's (AU) mission in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where for the past two years rebels have been waging a war against the Government and its allied militias, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and forcing some 2 million people from their homes.
23 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today urged all Burundian parties to ensure political transition and long-term stability in the country following the recent signing of a cessation of hostilities declaration by the country's President and the leader of the rebel Forces for National Liberation (FNL).
23 May 2005 – A United Nations mission has verified that Syrian troops and security forces have fully withdrawn from Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
20 May 2005 – Recommending that the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Haiti be extended for another year and the mission enlarged, Secretary-General Kofi Annan commends it for carrying out crucial tasks in difficult circumstances and says it has created a security environment in which the political transition can take place.
20 May 2005 – The mandate of the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peacebuilding (UNTOP) has been extended until June of next year, in view of the pressing needs in the post-civil war Central Asian country, according to an exchange of letters between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council.
19 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today named five experts to monitor the Security Council arms embargo against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with a mandate expiring at the end of July.
19 May 2005 – The United Nations envoy for Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, today called on political leaders to refrain from violence or incitement as Burundians move on to much-delayed elections after having approved a national constitution earlier this year.
18 May 2005 – Recent events in the Middle East should hopefully be remembered as "a new start on the road towards peace" rather than a "slide back into conflict and violent confrontation," the senior political affairs officer at the United Nations told the Security Council today.
18 May 2005 – For the first time ever, the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has referred one of its indictments to a national jurisdiction – Bosnia and Herzegovina – to try a former Serb militia member for rape and sexual assault of Muslim women during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
17 May 2005 – Security Council members today reiterated their concern for the political situation in Guinea-Bissau, particularly recent statements which may produce undesirable consequences for the restoration of constitutional governance and the holding of presidential elections next month.
16 May 2005 – The outgoing United Nations mission in Timor-Leste (UNMISET) and its predecessors have made a key contribution to progress in the young country and a follow-on office will enable it to lay the foundation for democratic governance, a senior UN official told the Security Council in New York today.
13 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will co-chair a high-level donors' meeting later this month on the African Union's mission in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where for the past two years the Government, its allied militias and rebel forces have been waging a war that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and forced some 2 million people to flee their homes.
13 May 2005 – The Senior Public Prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office in Berlin, Germany, will lead the United Nations investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the Security Council today.
13 May 2005 – Reacting with “deep concern” to today's exchange of fire along the line of withdrawal in Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all sides to reign in their forces.
13 May 2005 – Though elections, scheduled for October, should not be seen as the universal remedy to Haiti's crisis, they are essential to forming a legitimate government as the Caribbean country's political transition period comes to an end, the Brazilian representative told the Security Council today.
13 May 2005 – Allegations of corruption surrounding the now-defunct Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq will not derail efforts to reform the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
12 May 2005 – As Darfur peace talks remained stalled, militia attacks intensified last month and are the greatest cause of terror and suffering among civilians in the western Sudanese province, a senior United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.
12 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today applauded the African Union (AU) for the peacemaking leadership role it has taken in the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan, especially its decision to expand its small peacekeeping mission there to over 7,000 persons, and pledged to facilitate aid to the continental organization.
10 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today expressed its deep concern over troubling humanitarian situations in many parts of Africa and, recognizing that the efforts to turn back such crises were often under-funded, stressed the need for the prompt and predictable provision of resources and relief aid.
9 May 2005 – The African Union's (AU) "groundbreaking" mission in Sudan is effective where deployed and needs strengthening to enable it to expand its presence to cover more of the vast and difficult terrain in Darfur, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report out today.
6 May 2005 – Lebanon's imminent parliamentary elections and the establishment of an international inquiry into the recent assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri topped the agenda during talks in New York today between United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the country's new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati.
5 May 2005 – The Government of Sierra Leone has made progress towards meeting the benchmarks for the withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the Security Council in which he recommends extending the mission's mandate until the end of the year.
5 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed Deputy Prosecutor Desmond de Silva the new Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which is trying those accused of responsibility for serious crimes during the West African country's bloody civil war.
4 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan deplored attempts today to restrict the freedom of movement of the UN mission that is in Lebanon to verify the withdrawal of Syrian forces and, calling for late May elections to be held on time, he also sent two UN electoral experts to help with preparations.
4 May 2005 – Welcoming the progress made by the leaders of Côte d'Ivoire in meeting the terms of the South African-brokered peace agreement, the latest in a series of accords, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there for another month, as it did in April.
4 May 2005 – The members of the Security Council today voiced their continued support for United Nations efforts to build trust between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides for meaningful negotiations on a lasting political settlement to their conflict.
4 May 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed that the concerned parties have made "significant progress" towards implementing some of the provisions of a resolution that calls for withdrawing all foreign forces from Lebanon but expressed concern that other requirements of the measure have not been met.
3 May 2005 – Describing the two major set of recommendations to meet global challenges that world leaders will debate and decide on at the United Nations summit in September, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on a UN-affiliated women’s group to help seize the opportunity to reform the world body.
3 May 2005 – United Nations counter-terrorism experts today praised Kenya for its cooperation with UN efforts to fight the scourge, noting that the East African country was considering setting up a unit to control the financing of terrorists.
2 May 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and General Assembly President Jean Ping today expressed optimism over the informal consultations that have been taking place among representatives of Member States on Mr. Annan’s groundbreaking proposals for reforming the major organs of the world body.
2 May 2005 – There have been encouraging signals from both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides of their interest in settling their conflict by peaceful means only, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report.
29 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged an end to violence in Iraq, saying it was unfortunate that the designation of a new government coincided with the atrocities that took place earlier Friday.
29 April 2005 – United Nations counter-terrorism experts are set to travel next week to Kenya for the second in a series of country visits to take stock of the worldwide fight against the menace.
29 April 2005 – The United Nations has been holding talks on assisting the Lebanese Government prepare for next month’s parliamentary elections and a team of electoral experts is due to arrive soon in Beirut, a top UN envoy told the Security Council today as he briefed on the situation following the pullout of Syrian troops from its smaller neighbour.
28 April 2005 – With the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Timor-Leste set to wrap up its work in mid-May, the Security Council today mandated a special political mission to help ensure the nascent country continued its journey toward self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
28 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today wrapped up his visit to India stressing the urgency to bring about UN reforms and to enhance freedom around the globe by jointly pursuing goals in development, security and human rights.
28 April 2005 – Calling again on the parties and States of the region to cooperate with the United Nations to end the current impasse in Western Sahara and make headway towards a political solution, the Security Council today extended the UN peacekeeping mission there until the end of October.
27 April 2005 – Twelve Nepalese soldiers, the vanguard of what will eventually be a 10,000-member United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Sudan, has arrived on the ground at the start of the launch of a massive operation to help the vast region stabilize and its people rebuild their lives after the devastation of a 21-year civil war.
26 April 2005 – As the political transition in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) enters a key phase, the United Nations Security Council today urged the country's parties to maintain their commitment to a peaceful and inclusive process.
26 April 2005 – To meet the requests of Ivorian leaders for greater United Nations assistance in resolving post-conflict issues, the Security Council would need to expand the peacekeeping mission's mandate to include supervising elections, policing rebel-held areas and funding the rehabilitation of former combatants, a South African official said today.
26 April 2005 – The Syrian Government has informed United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan by letter that it has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, a UN spokesman said today.
25 April 2005 – The United Nations must undertake the most sweeping overhaul in its 60-year history to strengthen collective security, lay down a truly global strategy for development, promote human rights and democracy, and ensure that all of these commitments are translated into action, Secretary-General Kofi Annan argues in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.
25 April 2005 – Reaffirming that terrorism is one of the most serious threats to global peace and security, members of the United Nations Security Council today emphasized that "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed."
25 April 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a United Nations military team to Lebanon today to verify whether there has been a full and complete withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and intelligence apparatus as mandated by Security Council resolution 1559.
23 April 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today advocated support for his proposals to reform the United Nations, calling them the most far-reaching ever put forward in its 60-year history.
22 April 2005 – Hailing the efforts of a regional initiative to foster peace in Burundi, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed confidence that the Great Lakes country could hold credible elections as the group met to extend the transitional government's mandate, which was to have ended today.
22 April 2005 – Two United Nations teams will be heading to Lebanon in the coming days, one to verify the pullout of Syria's military and intelligence forces from its small neighbour, and the other to prepare for a Security Council-mandated inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a UN spokesman said today.
21 April 2005 – The overall improved political climate in Western Sahara has not ended the stalemate between the parties on the core issue of how the people of the territory can exercise their right of self-determination, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report recommending a six-month extension of the United Nations mission there to maintain stability.
21 April 2005 – The Palestinians must do more to reorganize their security forces to prevent violence and Israel must halt all settlement activity if recent hopes for resolving the Middle East conflict are to be sustained, the top United Nations political officer told the Security Council today.
20 April 2005 – The leader of the United Nations Security Council fact-finding mission just back from Haiti expressed cautious optimism today, saying security was gradually improving, but that the international community must remain engaged if the strife-torn nation is to make any headway against urban violence and grinding poverty.
19 April 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today voiced confidence that the new Iraqi Government would help resolve the cases of hundreds of murdered Kuwaiti prisoners of war and third-country nationals who disappeared after the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein occupied its small neighbour over 14 years ago.
18 April 2005 – Winding up a four-day fact-finding visit to Haiti, the United Nations Security Council praised the UN peacekeeping mission there for its work and said it was glad to have had the opportunity to assemble the Caribbean nation's political, electoral and human rights parties at the same table for talks.
18 April 2005 – Calling the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a continuing threat to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today extended an arms and military financing embargo to "any recipient" in the country and it froze the assets of sanctions violators as the UN peacekeeping mission carried out cordon and search operations.
18 April 2005 – Clashes between the Government and rebels in Sudan's western Darfur region, attacks against international aid workers, rape and the persecution of its victims, abuse of children, and torture by security forces, underscored a continuing dire situation, according to the latest United Nations report on the region, which was released today.
15 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council have expressed indignation about the shooting death of a Philippine soldier serving in the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
15 April 2005 – The General Assembly today set the stage for a summit-level commemoration of the United Nations sixtieth anniversary in September, when world leaders will take decisive action on achieving important goals for development, security and human rights.
15 April 2005 – Satellite imagery reveals “significant dismantling and removal activities” at 37 Iraqi sites linked to Saddam Hussein’s clandestine nuclear programme since his fall two years ago, but without on-site inspections no conclusions can be drawn, the United Nations atomic watchdog says in its latest report.
14 April 2005 – Representatives of the United Nations Security Council, on their first fact-finding visit to Haiti, today met Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue for talks before holding meetings with leaders of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country to assess its needs.
13 April 2005 – The search for the remains of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and third-country nationals missing since Iraq’s occupation of its small neighbour 14 years ago has not progressed substantially in recent months because of the difficult security situation, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report on the issue.
13 April 2005 – Two United Nations delegations converged on Haiti this week to assess the economic development challenges facing the Caribbean country, including the high unemployment rate, the disbursement and use of aid and its readiness to cope with natural disasters.
12 April 2005 – The newly arrived top United Nations envoy for Côte d'Ivoire met with President Laurent Gbagbo today, discussing the West African country's peace process, particularly last week's talks between the Ivorian parties in South Africa.
12 April 2005 – The recent peace-making statement from a major Rwandan rebel militia based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) provides a significant opportunity to move toward peace in the DRC, national reconciliation in Rwanda and normalization of relations between the two countries, the United Nations Security Council said today.
12 April 2005 – Undertaking a fact-finding mission while preparing to vote on extending the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Security Council representatives will leave tomorrow on their first visit to a Latin American or Caribbean nation, where they will support efforts to create a secure and stable environment, the delegation's leader said today.
12 April 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today commended the people of the Central African Republic on the responsibility they showed during their first round of presidential and legislative elections last month and noted that the second round in May would mark the end of the country's political transition.
12 April 2005 – A veteran South African constitutional expert, who is a long-time legal adviser to former President Nelson Mandela and has been involved in the Burundi peace process, has been designated to lead the United Nations team helping Iraqis write their new constitution in anticipation that a request for such assistance will be forthcoming.
11 April 2005 – With Somali armed groups reported to be still receiving weapons despite a 1992 embargo, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed four experts as members of a re-established sanctions Monitoring Group called for by the UN Security Council.
11 April 2005 – Virtually all sectors of Iraqi society want the United Nations to play a larger role as the country moves forward in its political transition to writing a new constitution and holding fresh elections, the Security Council was told today. But improved security is vital for any such expansion.
10 April 2005 – Addressing the conclusion of a three-day General Assembly meeting on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's sweeping reform package, the body's president has pledged all possible efforts to forge agreement among countries so that the proposals can be adopted when world leaders gather at the United Nations in September.
8 April 2005 – United Nations and African Union representatives today condemned a “senseless and pre-meditated savage attack” Thursday on a town in the western Darfur area of Sudan by more than 350 armed militia while the Government dragged its heels in designating land for the AU monitoring force meant to deter such incidents.
7 April 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today voted unanimously to set up an international independent investigation Commission into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and called on all states and parties to cooperate fully.
7 April 2005 – Seeking to avoid renewed violence in West Africa, a United Nations-backed meeting tomorrow is set to look at new approaches to rehabilitating and re-integrating some 200,000 former combatants in the region.
7 April 2005 – Speaking on the eleventh anniversary of the start of the Rwanda genocide and addressing the very human rights body he wants to replace, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today warned Member States that without reform of the United Nations human rights machinery, the credibility of the world body itself is at stake.
6 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the agreement reached by Côte d'Ivoire's political leadership, meeting in South Africa, to stop fighting and start disarmament.
6 April 2005 – The United Nations Security Council is set to visit Haiti next week to emphasize the international community's commitment to long-term stabilization and development and assess the Caribbean country's security, humanitarian and development needs.
6 April 2005 – As a sign of United Nations resolve to propel forward Secretary-General Kofi Annan's package of reforms before a summit meeting in September, two of the envoys he has appointed to take the message to world leaders vowed today to use the "unique moment" to help enact the "bold but achievable" agenda.
6 April 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of thousands of Syrian troops from Lebanon wrapped up his latest visit to the region today after securing Syria's agreement to withdraw all its forces, military assets and intelligence apparatus from its smaller neighbour by 30 April.
5 April 2005 – In a concerted effort to end "the culture of impunity," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) a sealed list of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict between the Sudanese Government, allied militia and rebels in the country's Darfur region.
5 April 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of thousands of Syrian troops from Lebanon continued his talks with Lebanese leaders in Beirut today, underlining the importance for the country's stability that free and fair elections be held by their scheduled date before the end of May.
4 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed four world political leaders to help him promote his reform ideas in the period leading up to a high-level General Assembly summit review of the Millennium Declaration in September.
4 April 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to transmit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) tomorrow a sealed list of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes and crimes under international law in the conflict between the Sudanese Government, allied militia and rebels in the country's Darfur region.
4 April 2005 – The Security Council today extended for one month the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission and the French Licorne forces along Côte d'Ivoire's Zone of Confidence separating Government-ruled regions from rebel-controlled areas.
4 April 2005 – Syria has agreed to withdraw all its troops, military assets and intelligence apparatus from Lebanon by 30 April under United Nations verification, in accordance with a Security Council resolution on the issue.
4 April 2005 – From his compassion for disadvantaged children to his commitment to the world’s hungry masses, from his support for a dialogue between civilizations to his advocacy of international tourism, the United Nations system paid tribute to Pope John Paul II for the giant role he played on the global humanitarian stage.
4 April 2005 – With one rebel group refusing to join the disarmament programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), some 800 United Nations peacekeepers looked for militia members in villages in the northeastern Ituri district over the weekend, returning fire and sending some armed people fleeing.
1 April 2005 – In response to a United Nations Security Council request, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed a three-member panel of experts to monitor the arms embargo the Council imposed last year on Côte d'Ivoire.
1 April 2005 – The Security Council has decided to refer the situation in Sudan's troubled Darfur region – where a United Nations inquiry found “serious violations of international human rights law” – to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move welcomed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan as one that would “ensure that those responsible for atrocities in Darfur are held to account.”
31 March 2005 – Recognizing progress in Guinea-Bissau, the United Nations Security Council today called on those involved in the West African country's politics to commit themselves unequivocally to a peaceful electoral process and free, peaceful, transparent and fair elections.
31 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of thousands of Syrian troops from Lebanon is set to leave for the region tonight with personal messages from Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
30 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today nominated a veteran Norwegian diplomat with Middle Eastern and United Nations experience to be his new Personal Representative for southern Lebanon, focusing on containing tensions along the line marking the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
30 March 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today called on the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to "develop a joint concept of operations for the disarmament of foreign combatants," together with the UN peacekeeping mission there, as it extended the mission's mandate to 1 October.
30 March 2005 – United Nations Security Council members, winding up the month's work with a discussion on Africa, said the continent is still the focus of Council efforts to maintain international peace and security and that both the UN and Africa itself have learned valuable lessons from past developments in peacekeeping.
30 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some thousands of Syrian troops from Lebanon discussed his mission with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today on the eve of his return to the region.
30 March 2005 – With elections for the first autonomous government in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville scheduled for late May and early June, the United Nations mission there plans to fold its tent at the end of June, a report to the Security Council says.
29 March 2005 – A United Nations panel appointed to investigate the observance of sanctions against diamond exports from Liberia says the Government of the West African country has forged "an exclusive mineral purchase and cooperative development agreement with an international company of unknown provenance and with no mining sector experience in an atmosphere of secrecy."
29 March 2005 – With the conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region continuing, the United Nations Security Council today voted to tighten its arms embargo on Sudan's Government and rebels by forming a Council committee to monitor the implementation of the weapons ban.
29 March 2005 – The United Nations special envoy for West Africa today called on the people of Guinea-Bissau to unite in respecting the new 19 June election date, a month later than earlier scheduled, and to do their utmost to put in place a political environment conducive to peaceful, free and transparent elections.
28 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the Security Council to launch an independent international investigation into last month's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after receiving the report of a mission he set up to probe the circumstances, causes and consequences of the murder.
28 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with representatives of leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to hear their views and discuss how better to focus attention and generate action on the emergency in Sudan's Darfur region.
28 March 2005 – With the rebels in northern Côte d'Ivoire having given five newly designated areas to new warlords and announced training facilities and a bank, they are preparing for a long-term crisis, if not planning immediately to secede, the chief of the United Nations mission in the West African nation told the Security Council today.
28 March 2005 – Pointing to upcoming elections and subsequent national stability as the key issues facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there for another year and has called for troop deployment in two more provinces.
28 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today asked donors to support a special court set up in Cambodia with United Nations assistance to try ageing leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime accused of killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in the country during the 1970s.
28 March 2005 – A United Nations special mission mandated to recommend measures Burundi might take to deal with perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes has recommended a non-judicial truth commission and a prosecuting special chamber within Burundi's court system.
24 March 2005 – The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously today to send 10,000 troops and more than 700 civilian police to southern Sudan for an initial period of six months to support the peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which ended more than two decades of civil strife.
24 March 2005 – With progress in the Côte d'Ivoire peace process being limited and deadlines for the implementation of provisions falling behind schedule, the security situation is precarious and mobilization of militia-type groups is increasing across the West African country, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report to the Security Council.
24 March 2005 – The United Nations offices in Guinea-Bissau are focusing on efforts to lower tensions between political parties and creating a good political climate for a peaceful, fair and transparent poll, which has been delayed by a month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report to the Security Council.
24 March 2005 – Stressing the urgent need to tackle ongoing challenges in Afghanistan including the fight against narcotics, terrorist threats and timely preparation for elections, the Security Council today unanimously extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in the country for another 12 months through 24 March 2006.
24 March 2005 – International support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is more vital than ever since, despite renewed hopes for progress, there is a sense that setbacks are inevitable, including Israel’s failure to freeze settlement expansion, the top United Nations political officer told the Security Council today.
23 March 2005 – Appealing for Arab support for his comprehensive package of United Nations reforms, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on an Arab League summit to take the lead in outlawing terrorism, above all in the occupied Palestinian territory, however genuine the grievances are over Israeli settlements and land confiscation.
23 March 2005 – The decision by the Serb entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina to hand over indictees to a United Nations war crimes tribunal seems to signify a change of attitude at last, 10 years after the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims by Serbs in Srebrenica and the Dayton accords that ended the war there, the Security Council was told today.
23 March 2005 – Liberia's peace agreement is being implemented and major goals in the transition from conflict to fair elections have been accomplished, but the National Transitional Government needs additional funding to provide basic services and re-integrate former combatants, a report to the United Nations Security Council says.
23 March 2005 – On the eve of receiving the report of a United Nations mission of inquiry into last month's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today deplored yet another bombing there and urged all concerned to do their utmost to safeguard the country's stability and national unity.
22 March 2005 – Afghanistan will need sustained international help way beyond September’s legislative elections marking the completion of the Bonn accord that set up the country’s transitional phase after the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest report delivered today.
21 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan is planning a full-court lobbying campaign, including plenty of personal telephone diplomacy, in a race against time to secure a large measure of support for his package of United Nations reforms by the time world leaders meet at the UN's New York Headquarters for a September summit.
21 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council today condemned two violent incidents which claimed the lives of two United Nations peacekeepers and injured three other troops of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) Sunday.
21 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that he had come back from visiting the Middle East last week with the impression that both Israelis and Palestinians feel optimistic over moves to end violence after more than four years of open conflict, although they realize that the situation is very fragile.
21 March 2005 – Calling for action, not more words, to fulfil pledges already made, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today laid before the General Assembly his plan for United Nations reform, ranging from greater investment in developing countries to steps to fight catastrophic terrorism and collective action against genocide and ethnic cleansing.
20 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today put forward a comprehensive deal for tackling poverty, security threats and human rights abuses while overhauling the United Nations through a set of recommendations slated for action by national leaders when they gather in September to mark the world body's sixtieth anniversary.
20 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's new report is a “bold and achievable” deal for realigning the United Nations so that it can better tackle the world's major scourges, senior UN officials said today.
18 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan will address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday to introduce a report on actions needed to implement the Millennium Declaration in which world leaders pledged to build a better and safer planet for the next century through collective security and a global partnership for development.
17 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he expected the full withdrawal of all Syrian troops from Lebanon, including the intelligence apparatus and military assets, to take place before the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for between mid-April and mid-May.
17 March 2005 – The Security Council voted today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS) by a week – the second time it has done so this month – while its members discuss plans to set up a peacekeeping mission in the south of the country and outline measures to encourage peace in the war-torn Darfur region in the west.
17 March 2005 – United Nations agencies are voicing renewed alarm over human rights abuses and looming hunger in western Sudan’s Darfur region, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and almost 2 million forced from their homes in fighting between the Sudanese Government, allied militias and rebels.
16 March 2005 – The United Nations today hailed the convening of the new Iraqi Transitional National Assembly as a seminal moment with unlimited opportunities for the future of the war-torn country, pledging the world body's help in the tasks and challenges that lie ahead.
16 March 2005 – The United Nations Mission of Inquiry into last month's assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon has left the country after completing its probe and is expected to report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan next week.
15 March 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today recommended that Secretary-General Kofi Annan re-establish the group monitoring weapons embargo violations in Somalia and that the Council's relevant sanctions committee visit the Horn of Africa country to show the Council's "determination to give full effect to the arms embargo."
14 March 2005 – Despite a weapons embargo against Somali militias, they continue to receive arms and to train fighters, leading to "a seriously elevated level of threat of violence against the peaceful establishment in Somalia of the Transitional Federal Government," the UN Monitoring Group on the Horn of Africa country says.
14 March 2005 – The very broad participation of Burundians in last month's referendum on the new constitution shows that they support the peace process in their post-conflict Great Lakes country, the United Nations Security Council said today.
14 March 2005 – Calling on Ethiopia and Eritrea to normalize their relationship and demarcate a boundary between them along the lines recommended by an independent commission, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the area separating the two countries until mid-September.
14 March 2005 – Stepping up efforts against terrorism, United Nations counter-terrorism experts today began their first on-site country visit, opening a new phase in the world body’s work to strengthen state capacity in fighting the scourge.
14 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon will present further details of the timetable for a complete pullout to Secretary-General Kofi Annan later this week following talks with the leaders of both countries.
11 March 2005 – War breaks out in certain countries because of a perception of a lack of justice by large segments of the population and women feel that burden of injustice even more keenly than men both before and after the conflict, the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and a lawyers' group say in a report calling for a UN structure to assist post-war justice systems.
11 March 2005 – Security Council members today called on the parties in Côte d'Ivoire to respect their obligations under the country's peace agreement, strongly warning them against resorting to force to resolve their problems.
11 March 2005 – The Sudanese Government and the rebel groups in the country's troubled Darfur region made no serious attempt over the past month to find a political solution to their conflict, although they engaged in fewer violent clashes, according to the latest report on the situation by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
11 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon today discussed full implementation of his mission with Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki as he prepared for his second series of talks in a month with Lebanese and Syrian leaders.
10 March 2005 – With far too many Iraqis, especially Sunni Arabs, having failed to take part in recent elections, which marked an important step in the political transition, it is vital that all sectors in the war-torn country be brought into next stage, including writing a new constitution, according to the latest United Nations report released today.
10 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today presented a five-point strategy for the United Nations to fight terrorism: dissuading the disaffected from choosing the tactic, denying terrorists the means to carry out attacks, deterring state support, developing state preventive capacity and defending human rights in the struggle against the scourge.
10 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council make another working trip to Ethiopia and Eritrea to assure the two Governments of its support for their peace process and also suggested that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there be extended until mid-September.
10 March 2005 – The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Advance Mission in Sudan (UNAMIS) by a week while members discuss plans to establish a fully-fledged peacekeeping mission in the south of Africa's largest country and set out measures to encourage peace in the troubled Darfur region in the west.
10 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon today discussed his mission with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as he prepared for his second series of talks in a month with Lebanese and Syrian leaders.
9 March 2005 – Bosnia and Herzegovina today launched its own War Crimes Chamber to help with the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as the court attempts to meet its 2008 deadline for trying the last of the cases stemming from the ethnic violence of the 1990s.
9 March 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today recommitted itself to the two-state vision of Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security and called on both parties to fully respect the understandings they reached at a summit meeting last month in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
9 March 2005 – Members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed the release of some political leaders in Haiti, but called on the Transitional Government of the Caribbean country to speed up pending cases and ensure due process for all.
9 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon held talks today with Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa on his way to the Middle East for his second series of talks in a month with Lebanese and Syrian leaders.
8 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon held talks with European Union (EU) officials today in Brussels on his way to his second visit to the region in a month.
8 March 2005 – The United Nations will join an African Union assessment team going to the troubled Darfur region in western Sudan to find out what is needed to strengthen security for the people caught up in civil strife there.
7 March 2005 – Concerned that the world is not moving fast enough to deal with the “appalling situation” in Sudan’s Darfur region, with reports of killing, rape and burning still flowing in, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today summoned Security Council members to a meeting to press for a beefed up international force on the ground.
7 March 2005 – Calling on United Nations Member States to support war-battered Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, the Security Council today said it would welcome an incrementally expanding role for the world body in the Horn of Africa country.
7 March 2005 – The top United Nations envoy for Iraq today began his sixth week of talks with political, social and religious leaders from across the spectrum after elections in which very few Sunni Arabs voted, pursuing efforts to ensure that all sectors are included in the next phase of the country’s transition, including writing a new constitution.
5 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is dispatching a senior envoy to the Middle East for talks on the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, a spokesman for the world body announced today.
4 March 2005 – About 90 of 353 sites in Iraq containing dual-use equipment and materials that can be used for either peaceful ends or acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) have been looted or razed, according to the latest report of the United Nations commission that was in charge of disarming Iraq of such arms.
4 March 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan will meet Security Council members on Monday to discuss the situation in Sudan, especially its war-torn region of Darfur, where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the past two years and almost two million others forced from their homes.
4 March 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with the chief of the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), William Lacy Swing, to review the situation in a mission dogged by deadly clashes in the troubled eastern region of the country and by sex scandals.
4 March 2005 – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told the United Nations Security Council today that both organizations could complement each other in the search for stability and peace in many of the world's crisis flash points.
3 March 2005 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire today handed over to local authorities the nearly 90 militia members it detained after a clash between the militia and rebel forces in the west of the country.
3 March 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of some 14,000 Syrian troops from Lebanon is returning to the region in the next few days, less than a month after his last visit, following an increase in tension sparked by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
3 March 2005 – The United Nations mission in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is trying to contain the situation in a very troublesome and unsettled area, as recent attacks on UN troops have shown, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
2 March 2005 – Expressing concern at the attack by "armed youth" against rebel Forces Nouvelles positions across the peacekeepers' Zone of Confidence last Friday and other serious incidents, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on the belligerents to rein in their militias.
2 March 2005 – Although the United Nations peacekeeping force is almost at authorized strength and has improved Haiti's security, the situation remains precarious "and the possibility of outbreaks of violence cannot be ruled out," Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report on the Caribbean nation and the UN mission there.
2 March 2005 – The Security Council today condemned last Friday's attack on a United Nations peacekeeping patrol in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which killed nine Bangladeshi soldiers, and said it considered "this aggression, by its intentional and well-planned nature, to be an unacceptable outrage."
1 March 2005 – With sporadic fighting continuing in Somalia and preventing the implementation of United Nations programmes in large areas of the country, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is calling for a tighter arms embargo against the Horn of Africa country, especially for heavy weapons.
1 March 2005 – Although the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main subject of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to London today, he took advantage of the presence of other top leaders to hold wide-ranging discussions on some of the world's other major trouble spots.
1 March 2005 – The United Nations Security Council has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” last Friday’s terrorist suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv which killed or wounded dozens of innocent Israelis, and called on the Palestinian leadership to take “immediate, credible steps” to find those responsible.
1 March 2005 – The chief United Nations counter-terrorism expert today called for greater cooperation among intelligence agencies and joint action in preventing terrorist acts, stressing the organizations' proximity to the front lines in the battle against the worldwide scourge.
28 February 2005 – A former Swedish ambassador has been nominated to be United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative for Côte d'Ivoire, leading peacekeeping efforts in the West African country, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said today.
28 February 2005 – The withdrawal from Timor-Leste of United Nations military liaisons and police trainers as scheduled later this spring might leave the country facing insurmountable challenges in its path towards peace and stability, the top UN envoy to the nation told the Security Council today.
25 February 2005 – The United Nations Mission of Inquiry into last week's assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri began its work today with a meeting with top local officials and a pledge to work "with absolute impartiality and professionalism."
25 February 2005 – Reforming the security sectors and reintegrating former militia members into their communities in West Africa need funds that have not been forthcoming and the high youth unemployment has created a desperation that could create unrest even in countries that are now calm, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
24 February 2005 – More than $1 billion will be needed to fund the first year of the proposed United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Sudan, set up to help the vast region stabilize and its people rebuild their lives after a 21-year civil war.
24 February 2005 – There are good chances that the process leading to talks on the final status of Kosovo could begin in the second half of this year but also risks that tensions could rise in tandem, the top United Nations envoy administering the ethnically divided province said today.
23 February 2005 – While noteworthy concrete steps have been taken in some areas in Kosovo, none of eight necessary standards have yet been fulfilled in moving the United-Nations-administered province forward towards final status talks, including building trust between majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs, according to the latest UN report.
23 February 2005 – Acknowledging the need for a monitoring and reporting mechanism to track the recruitment of child soldiers and other children's rights violations, the United Nations Security Council today said it has started considering the proposal for such an instrument from Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
23 February 2005 – Benon Sevan, the former head of the United Nations Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP) who was suspended following reports of impropriety in connection with the Oil-for-Food scheme, has asked for more time to answer the administrative charges against him, a UN spokesman reported today.
23 February 2005 – Although Timor-Leste has made progress in establishing state institutions, international assistance will be crucial for the country's long-term security and stability beyond the expiration in May of the current United Nations mission's mandate, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report recommending that a scaled-down operation be maintained for another year.
23 February 2005 – The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today met with the man who could be the country's next Prime Minister to discuss political developments in Iraq ahead of the convening of the new Transitional National Assembly and the world body's role in supporting the political process following last month's elections.
22 February 2005 – The political climate between Israel and the Palestinians has vastly improved in the past month with hopes for progress towards peace rekindled, but possible action by Palestinian groups and the continuing hardships of daily life in the occupied territories still cast a dangerous shadow, the top United Nations political officer said today.
22 February 2005 – The military chiefs of the three United Nations peacekeeping missions in West Africa met today in Dakar, Senegal, to share information and assessments of risk.
22 February 2005 – The top United Nations envoy to Iraq continued consultations with Iraqi leaders across the political spectrum today, pledging the world body’s support for broad-based national dialogue to advance the country's political process after last month's landmark elections for a constitution-writing national assembly.
22 February 2005 – Nearly 500 prisoners escaped during an “armed commando” attack on the national penitentiary in Haiti’s capital over the weekend, but the Haitian police joined in returning two jailed ministers from the government of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the United Nations mission in the Caribbean country said.
22 February 2005 – Although buffeted in recent months by allegations of mismanagement, corruption and other scandals, the United Nations remains an organization indispensable to the international community’s ability to deal with worldwide problems such as poverty and security, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
18 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the composition of an independent Commission of Experts to review the prosecution of serious human rights violations committed in 1999 in Timor-Leste after the former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia in 1974 voted for independence.
18 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a team to Beirut within the next few days following a request of the Security Council that he report urgently on the circumstances, causes and consequences of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's murder, Mr. Annan's spokesman announced today.
18 February 2005 – The situation in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region is deteriorating rapidly, more than 4 million people could be in desperate need of life-saving aid by mid-year, and the Security Council and world at-large must act now to put a robust force on the ground and pressure on all sides, the top United Nations relief official warned today.
17 February 2005 – Stressing its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today appealed to the arms-exporting countries "to exercise the highest responsibility in small arms and light weapons transactions" in accordance with international law.
17 February 2005 – The top United Nations peacekeeping official has voiced optimism over a resumption of stalled talks between the Georgian Government and Abkhaz separatists in efforts to resolve a decade-old conflict that forced nearly 300,000 people to flee their homes.
17 February 2005 – With today's announcement of final election results, the Iraqi people have shown the world that they were really up to the occasion and that made this process an immense success, the chief United Nations election expert in the country said.
16 February 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today received an action plan for the systematic monitoring and reporting of child abuse in situations of armed conflict (CAAC), or in “situations of concern,” with a view to triggering a strong international crackdown on offenders.
16 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying the evidence pointed to crimes committed by the Sudanese Government, militia and rebel forces, today urged the Security Council to act urgently to stop further death and suffering in the strife-torn Darfur region and "to do justice for those whom we are already too late to save."
16 February 2005 – Because many countries around the world faced the problem of terrorism, they were now more aware of the need to cooperate with the United Nations Security Council committee responsible for the implementation of sanctions against Al-Qaida, the Taliban and their associates, according to the head of an expert panel monitoring the measures' effectiveness.
16 February 2005 – Fresh from a briefing by the top United Nations political officer on the need to include Iraq's Sunnis, who largely stayed away from recent elections, in writing a new constitution, the Security Council today called for inclusiveness and transparency in the war-torn country's next transitional phases and pledged the world body's full support.
16 February 2005 – The Security Council today welcomed last week's summit in Egypt and the resumption of direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
16 February 2005 – Any new initiative proposed by the Sudanese Government to deal with the atrocities committed in the country's war-torn Darfur region should be dismissed given the extent of the involvement of that Government's officials in the crimes, the top United Nations human rights official told the Security Council today.
16 February 2005 – The report of a blue-ribbon panel on challenges facing the United Nations was restrained on development and humanitarian strategies and silent on Africa’s special needs, according to a top aide on Africa to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
15 February 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today called on all parties to cooperate fully in the restoration of the territorial integrity, full sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon and in the fight against terrorism following the assassination yesterday of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
15 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he hoped that there would be clear signs of a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon within the next two months.
15 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council take action to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by naming violators of the regional body's arms moratorium and embargoes and by prosecuting those responsible for trafficking in human beings and natural resources.
15 February 2005 – A prominent French jurist was elected today to fill a vacancy on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations' principal judicial organ for settling disputes between States.
15 February 2005 – The number of civilians uprooted by fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this year has risen dramatically over the past week, with an additional 30,000 to 35,000 people displaced as of today beyond the more than 50,000 already reported, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
15 February 2005 – The President of the United Nations Security Council today said the 15-member body was thinking of asking Secretary-General Kofi Annan to send either an envoy or a mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea to help push forward the "political dialogue" between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
14 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned in the strongest terms the "brutal murder" of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a number of others, and called on all Lebanese to exercise utmost restraint so as not to further destabilize the already fragile situation in the region.
14 February 2005 – As the top United Nations human rights official prepared to brief the Security Council on reported war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur, scattered reports of violence continued to come in today from the region where tens of thousands of people have been killed and up to 1.85 million others displaced in the past two years.
13 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on officials gathered in Germany at a leading forum on security to support efforts to strengthen the United Nations so that its system of collective security can better respond to changing conditions in the world.
11 February 2005 – The Security Council has made great strides in its efforts to enable countries to trace illicit small arms and light weapons, but the interaction between the Council and the General Assembly on some designated programmes needs more coordination, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
11 February 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon wrapped up his visit to the region today, devoting the last segment of his trip to meeting with the country's spiritual and religious leaders.
10 February 2005 – The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which took over from the United Nations in 2002, has made significant progress towards establishing a force of international quality as it enters its final year, according to a report released today.
10 February 2005 – The United Nations envoy seeking the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon met today with President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria, which has an estimated 14,000 troops on its smaller neighbour's soil.
9 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has written to the Security Council appealing for more police and French-speaking investigators to strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as an expanded investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation and misconduct continues, a UN spokesperson said today.
9 February 2005 – Two United Nations staff members - including the former head of the Iraq Oil-for-Food programme - have been sent formal notification of the administrative charges against them arising from a recent preliminary report by an independent panel probing allegations of corruption and mismanagement in multi-billion dollar relief effort.
9 February 2005 – A senior aide to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told Congressional staffers in Washington D.C. today that the world body is undergoing managerial reforms while working to determine the truth about allegations of corruption and mismanagement surrounding its now-defunct Oil-for-Food Programme for Iraq.
9 February 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for children and armed conflict (CAAC) today launched an action plan for systematically monitoring and reporting child abuse in situations of armed conflict, or in "situations of concern," with a view to triggering a strong international response.
8 February 2005 – The two principals in the decades-long Government-rebel conflict in southern Sudan, who less than three months ago vowed before an extraordinary United Nations Security Council meeting on their own doorstep in Kenya to make peace, came to the Council's home base in New York today, basking in the glow of their achievement.
8 February 2005 – The top United Nations envoy for Sudan today painted a "dismal picture" of the situation in the Darfur region, even if not as bad as in early 2004, with the Government and rebels violating the ceasefire, atrocious crimes still going unpunished and humanitarian workers increasingly subjected to intimidation from both sides.
8 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's newly appointed envoy seeking the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon conferred with Lebanese leaders today on the estimated 14,000 troops which Syria still has on its smaller neighbour's soil.
7 February 2005 – Responding to a recommendation by his High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change that the United Nations should work out a comprehensive anti-terrorism strategy, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told a counter-terrorism meeting that he would soon put forward some ideas on the matter.
7 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s newly appointed envoy on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon met over the weekend in Damascus with senior officials of Syria, which has 14,000 troops on its smaller neighbour’s soil.
7 February 2005 – The United Nations today announced the start of disciplinary procedures against two staff members named in a recent preliminary report by an independent panel probing allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the UN Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq.
6 February 2005 – The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq is continuing consultations with Iraqi leaders across the political spectrum on how to advance the country's political process in the wake of last month's landmark elections.
4 February 2005 – The top United Nations envoy cautioned the Security Council today that unless solutions are found to the conflicts plaguing Darfur and other regions of Sudan, the UN peace-support mission planned for the country's south will suffer.
4 February 2005 – Countering what it said was disinformation being anonymously spread, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today said there were no Rwandan soldiers serving with the UN in the country or anywhere else in the world.
3 February 2005 – Reaffirming his pledge to act resolutely on any findings of staff misconduct in connection with the United Nations Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced that he had initiated disciplinary proceedings against officials involved in the operation and was taking broader management measures in response to the release earlier in the day of a report by an independent panel looking into the management of the now-defunct relief effort.
3 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today formally recommends that the United Nations establish a peace-support mission in southern Sudan, and calls on Member States to contribute more than 10,000 troops and 700 civilian police to the operation, warning that the civil war that has just ended there "cannot quickly or easily be dispatched to history."
3 February 2005 – United Nations road movement has been suspended on the route between two of the main towns in West Darfur state in Sudan after armed men yesterday fired at a clearly marked UN truck and looted all the personal belongings of the driver and passengers.
2 February 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's newly appointed top envoy on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon will meet in the coming week with the leaders of Lebanon and Syria, which has 14,000 troops on its smaller neighbour's soil, a United Nations spokesman announced today.
2 February 2005 – The Security Council is determined to ensure there is no impunity for anyone who has committed war crimes or crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region, its President for February said today as he announced that the situation in Africa's largest country will be the focus of at least two Council meetings this month.
2 February 2005 – As parties to the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) prepare to meet this spring to curb the spread of illicit arms, the United Nations atomic watchdog today spotlighted a series of steps for speedy action including a moratorium on new facilities that could produce weapons-grade fuel and a clampdown on smuggling.
2 February 2005 – Two senior officials in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire held talks today with the rebel Forces Nouvelles on restoring its participation in the transitional coalition government and on security issues.
2 February 2005 – With the United Nations and the United States collaborating on "causes of great importance," they are moving forward in reforming the world body for its contemporary role and have held successful elections in Iraq and Afghanistan, UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said today.
1 February 2005 – In a wide-ranging critique of a high-level panel's report on the challenges facing the United Nations, members of the General Assembly have questioned what they see as the panel's inadequate treatment of the role that economic development plays in safeguarding collective security, according to Assembly President Jean Ping of Gabon.
1 February 2005 – In a move to strengthen international sanctions against Côte d'Ivoire and help with the country's disarmament programme, the United Nations Security Council today asked the Government and the armed opposition each to submit a detailed list of their weapons holdings and asked the French Government to pass along any information its forces gather in the West African country.
1 February 2005 – A report by a United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry into whether genocide has occurred in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region has found that the Government and Janjaweed militia are responsible for crimes under international law and strongly recommends referring the dossier to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
31 January 2005 – Congratulating the people of Iraq on Sunday's election, Security Council members today offered their continued support for the country's political transition.
30 January 2005 – Meeting African leaders at a summit today in Abuja, Nigeria, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan sounded the alarm about peacekeepers who abuse civilians and reiterated his call for swift punishment of such egregious behaviour.
28 January 2005 – Calling for an end to "serious breaches" of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the peacekeeping United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another six months and urged Lebanon to deploy an adequate number of security forces along the so-called Blue Line between the two countries.
28 January 2005 – More than 13 years after they agreed to a ceasefire, the parties in Western Sahara remain deadlocked politically and there is no sign of any way to advance the stalled peace process, Secretary-General Kofi Annan tells the Security Council in his latest report on the work of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there.
28 January 2005 – The Security Council today unanimously extended the mandate of the United Nations observers in Georgia for a further six months, until 31 July, and called for a settlement of the decade-old conflict between the Government and Abkhaz separatists that fully respected the territorial integrity of Georgia.
28 January 2005 – If terrorists are to be prevented from getting their hands on weapons of mass destruction, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must be strengthened, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has told world leaders, politicians and economists attending this year’s World Economic Forum.
27 January 2005 – Nearly four-fifths of the recent United Nations humanitarian appeals have addressed African problems, but the response has been slow to nearly non-existent, the chief of the UN humanitarian office told the Security Council today.
27 January 2005 – While noting that the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has 7,200 fewer troops than requested, an expert group probing violations of the arms embargo imposed by the Security Council recommends that the operation strictly monitor the airports to reduce illicit air traffic and thus "decrease the means and opportunity for violations of this type."
27 January 2005 – A senior United Nations humanitarian official today expressed his serious concerns following reports that about 100 people were killed or injured when Sudanese Government airplanes bombed a village in the northern section of the country's war-scarred Darfur region.
27 January 2005 – The report from the United Nations-appointed commission of inquiry into whether genocide has occurred in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region arrived today at UN Headquarters in New York.
26 January 2005 – With conditions far from ideal and security a major problem, Iraq's elections on Sunday should not be seen as "a be-all and end-all," but only one in a series of important staging posts "along an evolving transition" as the country emerges from an extremely traumatic chapter in its history, senior United Nations officials aid today.
25 January 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan was interviewed today by members of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) he commissioned to examine allegations of corruption surrounding the now-defunct Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq.
25 January 2005 – Fresh from a briefing by the top United Nations envoy for Georgia, the Security Council today renewed its call to that country's Government and Abkhaz separatists to reach a lasting political solution within the nation's recognized borders to the decade-old conflict that uprooted nearly 300,000 refugees.
20 January 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed five experts to monitor sanctions against Liberia's timber and diamond industries, as well as the arms embargo against the West African country following its 14-year civil war, and to advise on socio-economic and humanitarian issues.
20 January 2005 – In a bid to help the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia meet its target of trying all defendants by 2008, the General Assembly today extended the tenure of seven short-term judges and appointed two new temporary judges as well.
20 January 2005 – The latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the deployment of Palestinian security forces in northern Gaza are "very encouraging," a United Nations spokesman said today, after days of concern that a fresh upsurge of violence could abort renewed hopes for progress.
20 January 2005 – Recommending a six-month extension of the United Nations peace-monitoring force's mandate in the so-called Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says two incidents in January decisively shattered a period of relative calm over the past six months.
19 January 2005 – The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting later this month in Kazakhstan will allow the United Nations to expand the global anti-terror network, especially in an area haunted by terrorist activity, the Permanent Representative of Russia, who chairs the committee, and the committee's Executive Director said today.
18 January 2005 – The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) will hold a meeting of representatives from international and regional organizations in Kazakhstan later this month to strengthen the global anti-terrorism network and will make its first visit to a Member State during the quarter, the panel's chairman told the Security Council today.
18 January 2005 – Seeking to ensure that the United Nations International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) can complete trying all defendants before it by 2008, the Security Council today extended the mandates of several short-term judges whose tenure were to expire before the end of the trials they were conducting.
17 January 2005 – Alarmed by the recent upsurge of violence between Israelis and Palestinians after hopes of a fresh start with the election of a new Palestinian president, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan vowed today to do whatever it takes to get the so-called Road Map peace plan back on track.
14 January 2005 – The United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), established in 2001 to promote peace, security and development and assist regional organizations, has been given a more detailed mandate over the next three years, according to an exchange of letters between Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council.
13 January 2005 – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appointed his personal envoy focusing on containing tensions along the line marking the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon to be his Deputy Special Representative for Iraq.
13 January 2005 – The security situation in some areas of Sudan's South Darfur state is tense, the United Nations mission to the country reported today, after two attacks by unidentified armed militiamen earlier this week left at least one person dead.
13 January 2005 – For the second straight month the head of the United Nations Political Affairs office today presented a modestly optimistic picture of the “enormous potential” for progress towards settling the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in contrast to the gloomy forebodings of much of the past year.
12 January 2005 – Expressing concern about the disarmament and security situations in Haiti, the United Nations Security Council today said it was planning a mission to the troubled Caribbean country in the next several months.
11 January 2005 – Four experts have been named to assist the work of the United Nations Security Council sanctions committee dealing with efforts to prevent such private parties as terrorists and black marketers from acquiring weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
11 January 2005 – The United Nations envoy for Iraq today told a meeting of the country's neighbours and the eight leading industrialized nations that the world body remained committed to helping the Iraqi people and stressed the importance of this month's elections.
11 January 2005 – Calling the recent peace agreement between Sudan's north and south a milestone, the United Nations envoy for Sudan called on that country's Government and the rebels in the western region of Darfur to end their conflict and give the country a "peace dividend."
11 January 2005 – Security Council members today called on the parties in southern Lebanon to live up to their commitments and to exercise restraint, after an exchange of fire over the weekend between the Israeli military and Hizbollah forces across the line of withdrawal led to the killing and wounding of United Nations peacekeepers.
11 January 2005 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Guatemala have agreed that a UN human rights office will be opened in the Central American country later this year to advise the government on strengthening civil liberties observance after decades of civil strife have left a legacy of social discrimination.
10 January 2005 – With Afghanistan facing parliamentary elections this spring, the United Nations envoy for Afghanistan today called on the international community to prepare to pay between $120 million and $130 million towards the cost, depending on the final dates chosen by the yet-to-be appointed Independent Electoral Commission.
10 January 2005 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the election of new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as "a significant step in what is a historic democratic transition" in the occupied territories, and said he was looking forward to working for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
10 January 2005 – The United Nations Security Council today pledged aid, including the deployment of a peace support operation in southern Sudan, after yesterday's signing by the Government and rebels of an accord formally ending two decades of civil war that has killed at least 2 million people, uprooted 4 million more and sent 600,000 into exile.
9 January 2005 – Hailing today's signing of a comprehensive peace agreement formally ending Sudan's long and devastating war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan pledged to quickly outline plans for a United Nations operation there but warned that it would face severe challenges.
7 January 2005 – At least 30 civilians died last month in revenge killings carried out by troops from the national army for three murders of fellow-soldiers in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations mission there said today.
6 January 2005 – While Rwanda's concerns about its genocidal citizens hiding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are understandable, Rwanda and the DRC's other neighbours are not promoting the conditions needed to bring peace to the country's troubled eastern region, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says.
6 January 2005 – Voicing support for the recent steps taken by the Central African Republic (CAR) in its gradual political transition after years of instability and violence, the Security Council said today it was essential that the country's general elections scheduled for next month are free, transparent and democratic.
5 January 2005 – The United Nations Security Council hopes “restraint will prevail” between the parties to the Middle East conflict so that Palestinian elections next Sunday can be conducted in a free, fair and inclusive manner, the President of the 15-member body for this month, Argentine Ambassador César Mayoral, said today.
5 January 2005 – Welcoming the initialling of the final two protocols of a comprehensive peace deal to end the 21-year civil war in southern Sudan, the Security Council today voiced hope that the agreement will play a role in resolving the separate conflict engulfing the country’s Darfur region in the west.
5 January 2005 – Praising the enormous global outpouring of pledges for the victims of last week’s devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland today delivered “a few messages” of thanks, caution and pleas for coordination.
