28 December 2007 – The United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), set to become the world body’s largest peacekeeping operation with some 26,000 personnel at full strength, is poised to officially take over on Monday from the AU force currently on the ground trying to quell the violence and suffering in the war-wracked region of western Sudan.
28 December 2007 – Child malnutrition rates have reached their highest level in three years in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan, according to a joint survey carried out by the Government and the United Nations, which is leading what is the currently the largest relief effort in the world aimed at assisting some 4.2 million people.
27 December 2007 – Expressing his shock and outrage at the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the “heinous crime” and called for those behind the attack to be brought to justice.
27 December 2007 – Condemning the deadly terrorist attack that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and at least a dozen others in the northern city of Rawalpindi, the United Nations Security Council called on all Pakistanis to show restraint in the wake of today’s tragedy.
27 December 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire between Ethiopia and Eritrea today called on both sides to show maximum restraint after a shooting incident in the border area where the two countries fought a two-year war that ended in 2000.
26 December 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia has called for the release of two female staff members of the international aid organization Medecins Sans Frontières who have been abducted in the strife-torn Horn of Africa nation.
24 December 2007 – Former combatants from Government and rebel forces in Côte d’Ivoire began regrouping on schedule this weekend in what the United Nations peacekeeping mission hailed as an important stage on the road to restoring peace and stability in the divided West African country.
24 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has set up a trust fund to help the Governments of Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) build the law and order capacity needed to ensure the security of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) endangered by the spill over of violence from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region.
23 December 2007 – Capping off days of intensive negotiations, the General Assembly has adopted a two-year budget of $4.17 billion for the United Nations, with the United States casting the lone negative vote.
21 December 2007 – Faced with threats of unwarranted taxes and harassment by an armed rebel group in Burundi, United Nations humanitarian officials are seeking better access to the province around Bujumbura, capital of the small Central African country that is emerging from decades of ethnic conflict.
21 December 2007 – The top United Nations political officer today called for an Israeli freeze on settlements and removal of unauthorized outposts and for Palestinian steps to end violence, terrorism and incitement, warning that the next few months are critical for the renewed peace process between the two sides.
21 December 2007 – Concerned at the worsening situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where fighting has escalated between Government and renegade forces, the Security Council today demanded that all rebel groups lay down their arms and immediately stop recruiting children.
21 December 2007 – The Security Council today extended for a final period of nine months the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), during which the operation would take steps to progressively reduce its strength with a view to completing its mandate by next September.
21 December 2007 – An additional 10,000 people have reportedly fled Somalia’s capital Mogadishu due to ongoing fighting which has claimed the lives of at least six people and injured some 50 others this week alone, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
21 December 2007 – The United Nations and the Netherlands today signed an agreement to base in The Hague the court to judge recent assassinations in Lebanon, including that of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
19 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today looked back on his busy first year in office, which took him to nearly 40 countries or territories on six continents to push for progress in four main areas – United Nations reform, climate change, human rights and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and international security.
19 December 2007 – The 192-member General Assembly is well on the road to revitalizing its role within the United Nations, where the 15-member Security Council makes the binding decisions, and is planning major debates in the coming year on issues ranging from climate change to development funding to management reform, its President said today.
19 December 2007 – Having assessed the progress made so far in meeting the conditions for lifting the sanctions, the Security Council today renewed the arms and travel embargoes imposed against Liberia for another 12 months.
19 December 2007 – Preparations for the United Nations-mandated, multidimensional presence in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR) – which will include European Union (EU) military forces – are on track, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
19 December 2007 – The Security Council today held a private debate over the future status of Kosovo, a Serbian province where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by nine to one.
19 December 2007 – Commending Burundi’s efforts to consolidate stability and achieve national reconciliation, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Office in that country, known as BINUB, until the end of next December.
19 December 2007 – The Security Council today called on all sides in Somalia to use peaceful means to consolidate peace in the East African nation that has not had a functioning national government since 1991.
18 December 2007 – Nearly 90 Member States have reported to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions imposed against Iran, the chairman of that panel said today.
18 December 2007 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United States-led multinational force (MNF) in Iraq by another year, until the end of 2008, after a formal request from the Government of the Middle East country.
17 December 2007 – Representatives of key Arab and European countries and the United States, in a meeting in Paris led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, today expressed dismay at the prolonged stand-off over the presidency in Lebanon and reiterated earlier calls for the poll to be held as soon as possible.
17 December 2007 – With the accelerated plan for the renovation of the United Nations Headquarters complex approved by the General Assembly last week, the world body is set to embark on an ambitious five-year overhaul that will result in a sustainable, modern, safe and efficient facility, the UN official overseeing the project said today.
17 December 2007 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia has urged the international community to draw up a road map towards lasting peace and stability in the Horn of Africa nation that has not had a functioning national government since 1991, warning that continuing with “business as usual” would have dire consequences for the country and the region.
17 December 2007 – United Nations staff around the world joined together today to observe a minute of silence to honour the victims of the 11 December terrorist attacks in Algiers which claimed the lives of 17 of their colleagues.
14 December 2007 – Stressing the primary ownership and responsibility of Member States for reshaping the Security Council, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today urged countries to maintain the current momentum in a process that has been languishing for over a decade.
14 December 2007 – The Security Council today extended for a further six months the United Nations force that has monitored the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for over 30 years.
14 December 2007 – The United Nations will continue to help Timor-Leste in addressing the many challenges it faces, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged today during a visit to the tiny nation that the world body helped shepherd to independence in 2002.
14 December 2007 – A senior United Nations envoy is holding talks today with officials in the Dominican Republic about how to improve the border security of Haiti, where the UN has a peacekeeping operation to try to help stabilize the country after years of violence and misrule.
14 December 2007 – Reaffirming that the status quo on the Mediterranean island is unacceptable, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until next June.
13 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received a letter from the Lebanese Government requesting help in the investigation of yesterday’s bombing in eastern Beirut that killed a senior member of the country’s armed forces and at least one of his bodyguards.
13 December 2007 – Belgrade and Pristina have been unable to reach agreement on the final status of Kosovo, the Serbian province administered by the United Nations since 1999, despite four months of intense and high-level negotiations, according to a report just submitted to the Security Council.
13 December 2007 – A group of United Nations experts said that while it has found no evidence of arms flows across Liberia’s borders, the dramatic increase in armed robberies involving firearms is a cause for concern and merits the attention of the Security Council committee monitoring the arms embargo imposed on the West African nation.
13 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his profound sadness at learning of the death of Yuli Vorontsov, the Russian diplomat who coordinated international efforts aimed at recovering the remains of Kuwaitis and other nationals missing since Iraq’s 1990 invasion.
13 December 2007 – Noting that this is a “critical point” regarding the deployment of an African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, Secretary-General appealed for the world to step up its support for the mission.
13 December 2007 – Building strong State institutions, particularly a credible security sector, will be vital if Timor-Leste is to resolve many of the issues that continue to plague the young nation, a visiting senior United Nations official said today.
12 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for calm and restraint in the face of the current tensions between the two sides to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
12 December 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy for the Darfur peace process says UN and African Union mediators will try to speed up the momentum of the talks in the next few weeks so that direct negotiations can take place between the Sudanese Government and the war-wracked region’s many rebel movements.
12 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Security Council members today voiced outrage at yet another terrorist attack in Lebanon – this time a car bombing in Beirut that killed a senior member of the country’s armed forces and at least one of his bodyguards.
12 December 2007 – Concerned about ongoing insecurity in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Security Council today urged the Government to redouble its efforts to address the country’s ongoing challenges, and to hold a national dialogue with all actors without delay.
12 December 2007 – Despite the tremendous gains achieved by Timor-Leste since achieving independence in 2002, it will continue to need United Nations assistance for some time to address its political, security and economic challenges, according to a Security Council team that visited the country recently.
12 December 2007 – Guinea-Bissau will become the third country on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the United Nations advisory body set up to help countries emerging from conflict avoid sliding back into war or chaos, after the Security Council backed a request from the Government of the West African country.
11 December 2007 – Today’s deadly bombings in the Algerian capital have been strongly condemned by the Security Council and the President of the General Assembly, who said the bombings showed that terrorism is not only a threat to the values of the United Nations but to the actual work it carries out on the ground.
11 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the agreement of the Security Council to his intention to appoint Edward Luck as his new Special Adviser with a focus on the responsibility to protect.
11 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the mandate of his Special Envoy on the conflict between the Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the north of the country to be extended for a year to try to help bring the peace process to a successful conclusion.
11 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has led a chorus of United Nations condemnation of today’s terrorist attacks in Algiers that have reportedly killed dozens of people, including at least 11 UN staff members, and he has dispatched several top aides to the Algerian capital to investigate the bombings.
11 December 2007 – Voicing regret that there has been little recent progress on recovering and identifying the remains of Kuwaitis and other nationals missing since Iraq’s 1990 invasion, Security Council members today called for renewed efforts to determine their fate and that of the missing Kuwaiti national archive.
11 December 2007 – The Security Council today expressed its “deep concern” at the repeated postponement of the Lebanese presidential election, warning that the delays do not serve the interests of the people of the Middle Eastern country and could lead to a further deterioration of an already tense situation.
11 December 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is helping the country’s armed forces plan a counter-offensive after dissident troops loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda recaptured a key town in the troubled North Kivu province.
10 December 2007 – Serbia continues to do nothing to arrest the two most notorious suspects from the 1990s Balkan wars, the outgoing Prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia said today, declaring that her previous optimism that Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadžic might soon be in custody “has waned considerably.”
10 December 2007 – Recovering the remains of Kuwaiti and other nationals missing since the country’s 1990 war is taking longer than anticipated given the serious security challenges in Iraq, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
10 December 2007 – The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides have made no progress in the past six months in implementing the July 2006 agreement aimed at establishing the framework for a political process so that full-fledged negotiations on solving the Cyprus problem can begin, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.
10 December 2007 – The Security Council today extended until 31 March 2008 the mandate of the main office tasked with monitoring the efforts of countries to combat the global scourge of terrorism.
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received the report of the ‘Contact Group’ of countries working to address the status of Kosovo, the Serbian province which has been run by the United Nations since 1999.
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the United Nations office in the Central African Republic (CAR) be extended for another year to help the country consolidate progress and prevent a relapse into conflict.
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed four experts to serve on a panel authorized by the Security Council to monitor the arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze set up as a result of the conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
7 December 2007 – A former Rwandan provincial leader has been sentenced to life in prison by the United Nations tribunal dealing with the country’s 1994 genocide after it convicted him for his role in the killings, including the massacre of hundreds of Tutsis who had sought refuge in a church.
7 December 2007 – A third round of United Nations-backed negotiations on Western Sahara, bringing together representatives of Morocco and Frente Polisario, will take place early next month, it was announced today.
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the mandate of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau be extended for one year, with the possibility of it transforming into an integrated mission following the 2008 legislative elections.
7 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed replacing the current United Nations operation in Sierra Leone, when it completes its mandate next September, with a leaner integrated office to assist the West African nation in consolidating peace.
7 December 2007 – Despite calls to stop the abominable practice, children continue to be recruited and used as child soldiers in Myanmar and Burundi, according to the United Nations envoy for children in armed conflict who has just presented two new reports on the issue.
6 December 2007 – While Timor-Leste has recovered well from the violent crisis that engulfed it last year, it continues to grapple with a host of challenges including the fate of about 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and widespread poverty, the head of a recent United Nations Security Council mission to the tiny nation said today.
6 December 2007 – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro is heading a United Nations delegation to this weekend’s African Union-European Union summit in Lisbon amid mounting international concern about the obstacles to deploying a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force to the war-wracked Darfur region of Sudan.
6 December 2007 – The grave humanitarian conditions in south-eastern Ethiopia, the Darfur region of Sudan and Somalia could substantially worsen in the months ahead, the top United Nations relief official told the Security Council today as he briefed members on his recent visit to Africa.
5 December 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to actors in the Central African Republic (CAR) to engage in national dialogue to end the cycle of political instability and violence that continues to plague the country, pledging the sustained support of the United Nations in this process.
5 December 2007 – The head of the United Nations probe into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is “more confident and optimistic than ever that the investigation can be concluded successfully,” he told the Security Council today, explaining that his team has been able to answer many key questions regarding the February 2005 attack.
5 December 2007 – The Sudanese Government is not cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC), its Chief Prosecutor said today, calling on the Security Council to send “a strong and unanimous message” to Khartoum to arrest and surrender two men accused of committing war crimes during the conflict in Darfur.
4 December 2007 – As fighting between Congolese Government forces and troops loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda intensifies in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations peacekeeping mission there has urged all illegal fighters to lay down their arms.
4 December 2007 – The situation in the Golan Heights has been “generally quiet” recently, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, which warns that the overall region remains tense and a United Nations force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria should stay on for another six months.
4 December 2007 – The Council would address the issue of Kosovo, after having received the report on negotiations on the future status of the UN-administered province. “When the time comes we will assess and decide how to go forward on process and on substance,” the President said regarding the Council’s next steps with regard to Kosovo.
4 December 2007 – A recently-released United States intelligence report concluding that there has been no ongoing nuclear weapons programme in Iran since the fall of 2003 tallies with the findings of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), its Director-General said today, calling for all parties concerned to enter into negotiations.
30 November 2007 – In recent months, efforts to bring a lasting peace to Burundi have been impeded by a deteriorating political situation, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report to the Security Council made public today.
30 November 2007 – Wrapping up a four-day mission to assess the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste, the Security Council today said the international community will provide ongoing support for the world body’s efforts in the tiny nation which only gained independence in 2002.
30 November 2007 – This week’s conference in the United States was “the most significant breakthrough” in the Middle East peace process in several years, but the difficult humanitarian and security situation on the ground should not be overlooked, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
29 November 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced his intention to appoint Robert H. Serry of the Netherlands as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
29 November 2007 – The Security Council delegation visiting Timor-Leste to assess the work of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the tiny nation (UNMIT) today travelled to the eastern district of Baucau for talks with local authorities, political party representatives, UN officials and police officers.
29 November 2007 – The Force Commander of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) today urged a peaceful resolution of clashes in the country’s troubled eastern region, but said his troops stood ready to support Government efforts to resolve the problem militarily if necessary.
29 November 2007 – The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) today renewed its call for measures to prevent and suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia.
28 November 2007 – Members of a visiting Security Council delegation today joined senior Government officials in commemorating the anniversary of the Proclamation of the National Independence of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which the United Nations helped shepherd to self-rule in 2002.
28 November 2007 – The United Nations tribunal dealing with the worst crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide today reduced the jail sentences of three former media executives convicted for inciting their compatriots to kill ethnic Tutsis.
28 November 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed efforts to bring lasting peace to Burundi, calling for a consolidation of progress in the country, which is rebuilding after being torn apart by 13 years of armed conflict.
28 November 2007 – The Security Council today approved the appointment of Serge Brammertz, currently leading the independent probe of the 2005 killing of a former Lebanese prime minister, as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for a four-year term starting on 1 January.
27 November 2007 – A delegation of the Security Council has arrived in Timor-Leste to examine the work of the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMIT), which gained independence in 2002.
27 November 2007 – The full and rapid deployment of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is in jeopardy because of a series of objections and obstacles raised by the Sudanese Government and the lack of offers for crucial force units, a senior United Nations official warned the Security Council today.
26 November 2007 – Underscoring its role as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly today urged Member States to impart new vigour into the 192-member body to make it stronger and more efficient.
23 November 2007 – Grave child rights violations, including recruitment into armed groups, continue in Myanmar, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, calling on the Government to take measures to address the problem which is common to both State and non-State actors.
23 November 2007 – Mediators from the African Union and the United Nations aiming to advance the Darfur peace process have wrapped up a two-day visit to North Darfur after holding a meeting with the Sudan Liberation Army-Unity leadership there.
21 November 2007 – The first officers from the United Nations Standing Police Capacity will depart for Chad today to start training recruits for a specialized Chadian police unit responsible for providing security to the 300,000 or so internally displaced persons and Sudanese refugees affected by the conflict in neighbouring Darfur.
21 November 2007 – The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the European Union Stabilization Force (EUFOR) tasked with ensuring continued compliance with the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
21 November 2007 – The Security Council today commended the recent agreement of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to work together against threats to peace and stability in the region, calling it “an important milestone towards the definitive settlement of the problem of illegal armed groups” operating in the turbulent far east of the DRC.
20 November 2007 – Deploring the “dreadful toll” that civilians continue to pay in armed conflicts around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the Security Council to establish a working group dedicated to improving protection for civilians in such situations.
20 November 2007 – Citing ongoing security challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended extending the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the vast country for one more year, suggesting that a drawdown could commence following the holding of local elections.
19 November 2007 – Security Council members today voiced concern about worsening conditions in Somalia, urging all concerned to work for peace while stressing the need to lay contingency plans for a possible United Nations peacekeeping presence in the country, which has lacked a functioning government since 1991.
16 November 2007 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up after the Rwandan genocide today sentenced a former mayor to 11 years in jail for his role in the mass killings that engulfed the small African nation in 1994.
16 November 2007 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog has circulated his latest report regarding the nuclear programme of Iran to the agency’s Board of Governors.
16 November 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief is heading to China for a regional seminar and meetings with Government officials to encourage the world’s most populous country to contribute more to UN operations.
16 November 2007 – The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called on the international community to step up its efforts to reign in Afghanistan’s booming opium production, which not only accounts for over half the country’s gross domestic product but is also funding insurgents in the strife-torn nation.
16 November 2007 – United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today highlighted the importance of empowering women to build healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous societies.
15 November 2007 – The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned today that security in West Africa is being threatened by criminals who are using the region as a hub for trafficking drugs, particularly cocaine, from South America to Europe.
14 November 2007 – The independent United Nations human rights expert probing recent events in Myanmar continued his visit today holding meetings with a number of Government officials, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and the UN Country Team.
14 November 2007 – United Nations Member States have paved the way to identifying the contentious elements that will form the basis of negotiations on reforming the Security Council, the General Assembly President said today after the 192-member forum wrapped up a three-day debate on the issue.
14 November 2007 – The lack of offers from Member States for key ground transport and aviation units and the Sudanese Government’s unwillingness so far to approve the presence of non-African units means the hybrid United Nations peacekeeping mission planned for the war-torn Darfur region could fail, a senior UN official warned today.
13 November 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Myanmar today urged the South-East Asian nation to immediately begin talks between the Government and the opposition, stressing that dialogue was the only way forward to address the country’s ongoing crisis.
13 November 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his plan to appoint a senior Canadian legal figure as the next head of the independent commission tasked with investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and many other killings in the Middle Eastern country.
13 November 2007 – The Security Council today urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to implement without delay a 2002 ruling on the delimitation of their common border, stressing the need for the two African neighbours to settle their disagreements peacefully.
13 November 2007 – Welcoming recent positive steps in the peace process between the Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Security Council today called on all sides to maximize the opportunity to make further progress and to improve the living conditions of the people of northern Uganda.
12 November 2007 – As the General Assembly today embarked on a wide-ranging debate on Security Council reform, the 192-member body’s president said he looked forward to hearing the proposals of Member States and urged them to adopt a framework that would foster concrete results.
12 November 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's new Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, has arrived in Baghdad where he immediately assumed his responsibilities as the top United Nations envoy in the country.
9 November 2007 – The hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission to the war-torn Darfur region (UNAMID) still lacks critical transport and aviation units and the Sudanese Government has not responded yet to the UN-AU submission on the force’s composition, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, warning that delays to deployment will only exacerbate the humanitarian situation.
8 November 2007 – A major United Nations study on the impact of conflict on education finds students, teachers and schools under concerted and deliberate attack and calls for urgent measures to protect the academic future of children living in war zones.
8 November 2007 – The Security Council today strongly condemned the suicide attack which claimed the lives of numerous civilians in the northern Afghan town of Baghlan just days ago, reiterating that no act of terrorism can reverse the country’s path toward peace.
7 November 2007 – The months ahead will be critical to fully implementing the Security Council resolution that ended last year’s war between Israel and Hizbollah, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report in which he calls for greater progress on a series of fronts so that a permanent ceasefire can be reached.
7 November 2007 – The continuing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the failure to resolve their longstanding boundary dispute and the military build-up along their common border are causes for serious concern, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in a new report.
6 November 2007 – Nepal’s politicians and civil society must conduct a clear assessment of why elections for its Constituent Assembly have had to be postponed twice this year, the senior United Nations envoy to the country said today, calling on all sides to outline a realistic road map for the future.
6 November 2007 – Highlighting the role of regional organizations in preventing conflict, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that the United Nations is committed to building up their capacity to meet global challenges.
6 November 2007 – The Security Council will send a mission to Timor-Leste to build on the success of the tiny nation’s recent elections and to support efforts to bolster peace and democracy, it was announced today.
5 November 2007 – The Security Council today reaffirmed the need to hold free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon, in conformity with the country’s Constitution and without any foreign interference and influence, the 15-member body’s president said.
3 November 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the vital role played by Iraq's neighbours and regional partners in securing peace and stability in the strife-torn nation which continues to face daunting challenges.
2 November 2007 – Lebanon, Myanmar and the situation in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan are among the top issues to be dealt with by the Security Council this month, its president said today.
1 November 2007 – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today underscored the central role played by the rule of law in the work of the United Nations.
1 November 2007 – The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) has wrapped up a meeting in Nairobi with a plan for specific steps to boost border security.
1 November 2007 – The top United Nations envoy for the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur is continuing to hold meetings as part of the landmark peace talks in Sirte, Libya, to end the crisis which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced more than two million others to flee their homes.
31 October 2007 – The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) by six months, urging all parties to fully put into the practice the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending a 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan.
31 October 2007 – Security conditions and political stalemate are combining to create a “climate of ongoing crisis” in Lebanon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in a new report, emphasizing the need to hold free and fair presidential elections next month without any foreign interference.
31 October 2007 – The Security Council today extended through next April the mandate of the United Nations mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which has been in the Territory since 1991 to monitor the ceasefire between Morocco and the Frente Polisario.
29 October 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his call for an end to rocket attacks against Israel while urging the country to reconsider the limitation of fuel and electricity supplies to residents of Gaza, pointing out that this is worsening the already serious humanitarian situation there.
29 October 2007 – "Active cooperation and transparency" on Iran's part are key in resolving outstanding issues over the country's nuclear ambitions, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the General Assembly today.
29 October 2007 – The Security Council's counter-terrorism committee and more than 70 international organizations and United Nations agencies are holding a three-day meeting starting today in Nairobi to examine ways that countries can better secure their borders against terrorists and how the UN can help in those efforts.
29 October 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today renewed for another year a ban on diamonds and arms trade with Côte d’Ivoire as well as targeted sanctions restricting the travel of individuals.
27 October 2007 – At the start of historic United Nations-backed talks to bring peace to Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region, top officials from the world body underscored that dialogue – not war – is the only means to find a sustainable and comprehensive solution to the crisis.
26 October 2007 – The Security Council is likely to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), the head of the operation said today, one day after the 15-member body held closed consultations on the issue.
26 October 2007 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today criticized Iran’s use of the death penalty against juveniles, saying it is probably the only country in the world that does this systematically.
25 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on countries to generously support the Central African Republic (CAR) in its efforts to restore peace and achieve progress, ahead of a donors meeting to be hosted by the European Commission in Brussels tomorrow.
25 October 2007 – The United Nations should lead efforts to foster a new global environment where partnerships can flourish, the President of the General Assembly said today, advocating a greater role for businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve this goal.
25 October 2007 – The humanitarian situation inside the occupied Palestinian territory is deteriorating every day, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said today, warning that Israel’s threat to cut electricity and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip if rocket attacks continue will only worsen the situation.
24 October 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur said today that he hopes as many rebel leaders as possible from the war-torn Sudanese region will eventually take part in landmark peace talks starting on Saturday, even though some of the splintering rebel forces are already signalling they will not attend.
24 October 2007 – Raising concerns about the humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians, the top United Nations political official today told the Security Council that planned Israeli measures could further hamper relief efforts.
23 October 2007 – The recent two rounds of United Nations-sponsored talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario on Western Sahara were positive but they could not be described as negotiations, given the two sides largely rejected each other’s views, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the issue.
23 October 2007 – Recognizing the recent progress towards including women in the search for peace, justice and reconciliation, the Security Council today urged countries and the United Nations system to enhance female participation in decision-making and to take specific steps to protect women and girls from gender-based violence during conflicts.
23 October 2007 – The peace process in Nepal is facing unprecedented challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, urging the parties there to reach agreement on future steps, including a realistic timetable for elections that were to have been held next month but have been postponed to an as yet undetermined date.
22 October 2007 – Strongly condemning last Thursday’s attacks on the convoy of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi, the Security Council today said those behind the “reprehensible act of terrorism” must be brought to justice.
22 October 2007 – Noting the mixed progress made by both sides in the divided West African country of Cote d’Ivoire in implementing this year’s peace accord, the Security Council today called on them to meet all their commitments, from registering voters to disarming and dismantling militias to restoring State authority.<
22 October 2007 – On the eve of a Security Council debate on the role of women in peace and security, two senior United Nations officials have stressed the need to combat gender-based violence and to ensure that violations of women’s rights, including the use of rape as a weapon of war, are viewed as a security issue.
19 October 2007 – Next month’s United States-sponsored international meeting will be critical to the Middle East peace process, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ehud Barak emphasized today during talks at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
19 October 2007 – Drug trafficking and organized crime are threatening to undermine the efforts of Guinea-Bissau to develop the rule of law, democracy and transparent governance and they are also destabilizing the wider West African region, the Security Council said today.
19 October 2007 – The new United Nations envoy for Iraq will travel to the country in two weeks for talks on a broader role for the world body there, a senior UN official told the Security Council today.
18 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of three Special Representatives and two Deputy Special Representatives to act for him in four African countries trying to recover from prolonged war or insecurity – Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Liberia.
18 October 2007 – French authorities have arrested a Rwandan national and former public official who had been on the run from the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up after the 1994 genocide in the African country.
17 October 2007 – A new report on Iraq by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sees a moment of opportunity for achieving progress amid declining violence, and envisages an expanded United Nations role in support of this goal.
17 October 2007 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today decried the killing of three truck drivers who were shot to death while working for the agency in the violence-wracked Darfur region in Sudan.
17 October 2007 – On the tenth anniversary of a groundbreaking study on the impact of armed conflict on children, two top United Nations officials and a former Sierra Leonean child soldier today appealed for greater efforts to protect children and noted that much work remains to be done.
17 October 2007 – The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, set up a year ago to help countries emerging from conflict avoid the slide back into war, should now start adding more States to its agenda, the Commission’s chair told the Security Council today.
16 October 2007 – The General Assembly today elected Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Viet Nam to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting 1 January 2008.
16 October 2007 – Welcoming the exchange of humanitarian gestures by Israel and Hizbollah mediated by his facilitator, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced hope that this will create momentum to push both sides to comply with the key humanitarian demands of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended last year’s war in Lebanon.
15 October 2007 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) through mid-October 2008 while reducing its military component and increasing police in order to adjust to changing circumstances in the country, where civil unrest remains a threat but gang violence has been significantly curtailed.
15 October 2007 – Senior officials from the United Nations courts set up to try those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the atrocities committed during the Balkan wars today appealed for bolstered cooperation from Member States to apprehend perpetrators of these horrendous crimes and bring them to justice.
15 October 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Myanmar today urged the Government to halt the use of force against dissidents, calling recent reports of arrests, interrogations and intimidation “extremely disturbing.”
15 October 2007 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for six months, voicing serious concern over deadly incidents violating the Georgian-Abkhaz ceasefire.
15 October 2007 – The top United Nations official in Sudan has met with members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) to discuss its recent decision to withdraw from the Government of National Unity.
15 October 2007 – Security remains a major challenge for Afghanistan, the United Nations envoy to the strife-torn nation said today, urging troop-contributing countries to resist the temptation to reduce their commitments with the caution that “now is not the time to wobble.”
11 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the composition of a selection panel to recommend to him the names of judges and chief prosecutor to work on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is being set up to prosecute the suspected killers of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.
11 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced that he is sending his Special Adviser on Myanmar back to the region this weekend to meet with regional partners about the situation in the troubled South-East Asian nation.
11 October 2007 – Strongly deploring Myanmar’s recent use of violence against peaceful protesters, the Security Council today underscored the need for dialogue between the Government and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to accelerate its national reconciliation process.
10 October 2007 – The Sudanese Government and rebel groups in Darfur continue to violate the Security Council arms embargo, sending heavy weapons, small arms, ammunition and other military equipment into the war-torn region over the past year, a panel of experts set up to monitor the ban says in a new report.
10 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that the failure to achieve key benchmarks set out in a March peace agreement has led to a “slackening of momentum” which threatens the overall peace process and security conditions in Côte d’Ivoire.
10 October 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy for Darfur held talks today with senior officials from the Sudanese Government and neighbouring countries to finalize preparations for major peace negotiations later this month that will try to end the conflict that has ravaged the region in western Sudan since 2003.
10 October 2007 – The timeline for implementing the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in Darfur is being delayed because of difficulties in obtaining land to house the mission offices and staff accommodations and problems relating to the list of troop-contributing countries, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
10 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for the entire United Nations system to be empowered to shoulder the responsibility of preventing mass atrocities, which he deemed one of the “most sacred callings” of the world body and the international community.
10 October 2007 – Nepal’s political parties should use the delay to the holding of Constituent Assembly elections to bolster the peace process by tackling its weaknesses and agreeing on a road map for ensuring that credible polls can take place, the senior United Nations official in the South Asian country said today.
9 October 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy for Darfur is in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for talks with Government officials, civil society groups and other players ahead of major peace negotiations later this month that will try to end the conflict that has torn apart the impoverished region.
9 October 2007 – Members of the Security Council today, recognizing the strong desire of the Nepalese people for peace following a decade-long conflict, expressed “disappointment” at the delay to Constituent Assembly elections that were scheduled to be held next month, the 15-member body’s president said.
9 October 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Kosovo today appealed for Serbs in the United Nations-administered province to take part in next month’s elections, adding that he has asked the Serbian prime minister to refrain from calling for a boycott of the upcoming polls.
9 October 2007 – The military chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today met with senior officials from both the Lebanese and the Israeli armies to discuss recent violations of the Blue Line between the two countries, the marking of the line and the temporary security arrangements for a key border village.
9 October 2007 – The United Nations war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia today began a study into how best to manage their enormous archives and ensure they are accessible to all who need to use them.
8 October 2007 – Four fugitives remain at large from the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the failure to arrest them “continues to represent an affront to justice,” the court says today.
5 October 2007 – Myanmar needs to take major steps towards democratizing, protecting human rights and accelerating its national reconciliation process, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling authorities’ recent use of force against peaceful demonstrators in the Asian country “abhorrent and unacceptable.”
5 October 2007 – Condemning yesterday’s attack in Baghdad on the Polish Ambassador to Iraq, the Security Council today called on the international community to support the Iraqi Government in protecting the diplomatic community, United Nations staff and other foreign civilian personnel.
4 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was briefed today by his Special Envoy for Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who has just returned from the region following discussions with senior Government officials and the Nobel laureate and political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.
3 October 2007 – Police in Timor-Leste today arrested a man alleged to have played a part in the violence of May last year, when at least 37 people were killed and 155,000 others, 15 per cent of the population, driven from their homes in the small South-east Asian country that the United Nations helped shepherd to independence from Indonesia in 2002.
3 October 2007 – The only way to end the Darfur conflict is through political negotiations, Sudan’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, pledging his Government’s full support of peace talks later this month and calling on all of Darfur’s many rebel groups to end hostilities and participate.
3 October 2007 – The United Nations General Assembly today wrapped up its wide-ranging high-level debate characterized by calls for action to address climate change and other pressing international concerns, the 192-member body’s president said.
3 October 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari held talks today in Singapore with the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after concluding a series of meetings with senior leaders in Myanmar.
2 October 2007 – Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary today called for the adoption of an ambitious international reconstruction plan for Afghanistan during his address to the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
2 October 2007 – The Foreign Minister of Costa Rica today urged leaders attending the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate to work for cuts in military spending to fund development objectives.
2 October 2007 – A comprehensive global convention against terrorism must be concluded as soon as possible, the representatives of Greece and Australia told the General Assembly today, calling for the issue to be a priority among United Nations Member States.
2 October 2007 – The Foreign Minister of Kenya today cautioned that the crisis in Somalia threatens to be overshadowed by the Darfur conflict, and called for a stepped-up United Nations role in the volatile Horn of Africa country.
2 October 2007 – The Security Council today condemned last weekend’s “murderous” attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Haskanita, South Darfur, and demanded that no effort be spared to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
1 October 2007 – Warning that peace talks “cannot go on forever,” Uganda’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today that the international community must step up the pressure on the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to meet its commitments under an agreement aimed at ending hostilities in the long-running civil war in the country’s north.
1 October 2007 – A senior official from the Central African Republic (CAR) today welcomed the recent establishment of a United Nations-mandated, multidimensional presence in the country but said it must be accompanied by assistance to bolster national capacity there.
1 October 2007 – The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been “the crowning success” of recent progress towards the rule of law and global justice, Liechtenstein’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, but that achievement must be backed up by arrests of all the people indicted by the Court.
1 October 2007 – The current crisis in Myanmar is the result of a “neo-colonialist” attempt by powerful countries to exploit recent peaceful protests, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, adding that “normalcy has now returned” after security forces took action against the demonstrators.
1 October 2007 – Ethiopia seems to be planning to renounce the accord that ended its border war with Eritrea so that it can renew hostilities, the latter’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, accusing some Security Council members of accommodating the interests of Ethiopia despite its repeated breaches of international law.
1 October 2007 – Despite recent progress in the fields of public finance and cooperation with international finance institutions, the consolidation of democracy in Guinea-Bissau is being impeded by numerous challenges, particularly drug trafficking, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report made public today.
1 October 2007 – A comprehensive overhaul of the world’s key financial institutions and drastic changes to the rules of international trade are necessary if poor countries are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their target date of 2015, India’s External Affairs Minister told the General Assembly today.
1 October 2007 – The international community should convene a summit in the coming years on reform of the Security Council, bringing together national leaders from across the world to break the impasse on the issue, a senior Libyan official told the General Assembly today.
1 October 2007 – The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has a decisive role to play in promoting development as a central United Nations organ, the Foreign Minister of Niger told the General Assembly today.
1 October 2007 – On the request of the President of Côte d’Ivoire for an independent international inquiry into the June attack against a plane carrying Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent an exploratory mission to the West African country.
1 October 2007 – The Security Council should condemn a recent Israeli “act of aggression” against Syria, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly in a speech that also urged greater assistance to help Iraqi refugees and non-intervention in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential elections.
1 October 2007 – United Nations officials have joined Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in strongly condemning this weekend’s deadly attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers at a base in Haskinita, South Darfur, which killed nearly a dozen people and wounded many more, with several people also reported missing.
1 October 2007 – The issue of Western Sahara is witnessing an “historical turning point,” the Foreign Minister of Morocco said today, referring to the Non-Self-Governing Territory as “Moroccan Sahara” and advocating a settlement based on an autonomy proposal put forward by the country’s Government.
30 September 2007 – Condemning in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Haskanita, South Darfur, which killed some 10 African Union (AU) peacekeepers, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for those responsible to be brought to justice for the "outrageous" act.
28 September 2007 – A gradual evolution in global governance is necessary to make the world’s leading institutions, including the United Nations Security Council, mirror today’s “multi-polar reality,” Singapore’s Foreign Minister has told the General Assembly.
28 September 2007 – Developing countries deserve greater representation on the United Nations Security Council, the Foreign Minister of China, one of five permanent members on that body, said today.
28 September 2007 – European countries addressing the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today stressed the value of multilateralism and called for international relations to be based more on partnerships, whether among individual States or with regional groups or the United Nations and other organizations.
28 September 2007 – Japan is committed to bolstering global efforts for the elimination of nuclear weapons, the country’s newly-appointed foreign minister told the United Nations General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today.
28 September 2007 – The Palestinian Authority is committed to the success of an upcoming Middle East peace meeting, its President, Mahmoud Abbas, told the United Nations General Assembly today.
28 September 2007 – The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the panel of experts set up to monitor an arms embargo in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
28 September 2007 – United States authorities have determined that the potentially hazardous substances removed from the New York office of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) last month pose no threat.
28 September 2007 – Extreme violence in Somalia, attacks and threats against the media and a lack of humanitarian access in the strife-torn country, where more than 700,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes, remain matters of deep concern, according to an independent United Nations expert.
27 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that he is pleased that the Government of Myanmar has agreed to a visit by his Special Envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, who has been dispatched to the region in response to the deteriorating situation in the country.
27 September 2007 – The President of Cameroon today voiced support for the planned new United Nations peacekeeping operation in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) and pledged his country’s full cooperation in its deployment.
27 September 2007 – As the General Assembly continued its annual high-level debate today, numerous countries called for more fair and equitable governance within the United Nations system.
27 September 2007 – Restating Serbia’s long-standing rejection of independence for Kosovo, the country’s President today proposed a compromise for the province that the United Nations has administered since 1999 based on the “autonomous development” of the Albanian-majority community.
27 September 2007 – The forces that committed genocide in Rwanda more than a decade ago remain active in the region and must be countered with international action, the country’s President told the United Nations General Assembly today.
27 September 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today called for a free and timely presidential election in Lebanon, which was scheduled to be held this week but has been postponed until later next month.
27 September 2007 – Leaders from West African countries working to consolidate peace and build democratic institutions today voiced appreciation for the support of the United Nations and its agencies in this endeavour.
26 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today he is sending his Special Envoy dealing with Myanmar to the region in response to the deteriorating situation in the Asian nation, and once again urged authorities there to respond to the ongoing peaceful protests with the utmost restraint.
26 September 2007 – The President of Haiti today credited the United Nations Stabilization Mission in his country (MINUSTAH) with promoting stability in the country and said recent gains will be consolidated into a more secure future for its people.
26 September 2007 – The President of Latvia today called for a comprehensive approach to United Nations peacekeeping, involving all facets of the system, in his address to the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.
26 September 2007 – The President of Nigeria today called for an expansion of the Security Council to include representation for Africa, and pledged his country’s efforts toward achieving this end.
26 September 2007 – The Foreign Minister of Cuba, which chairs the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), today called for improvements in the work of the United Nations to make it more transparent and democratic.
26 September 2007 – Plans by the United Nations to set up a preventive diplomacy centre in Central Asia represent a milestone in the world body’s efforts to bring peace and stability to the region, Turkmenistan’s President told the General Assembly today.
26 September 2007 – The top United Nations refugee official has called for the early deployment of a new peacekeeping force in Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) authorized to protect civilians and facilitate the provision of aid amid a “very difficult and serious” humanitarian situation.
26 September 2007 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the aftermath of the 1990s Balkan wars should not close until the most notorious suspects still at large, the former Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, are brought to justice, the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina told the General Assembly today.
26 September 2007 – To counter the influence of strong countries, the United Nations General Assembly must be reinvigorated and become more active in all areas, including peace and security, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe said today.
25 September 2007 – The Emir of Qatar today called for action to achieve a successful outcome to the Doha round of trade talks during an address today to the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
25 September 2007 – The President of the United Nations General Assembly today opened its annual high-level debate with a call for action to sustain the international momentum generated by yesterday’s high-level meeting on addressing the problem of climate change.
25 September 2007 – The United Nations should expedite its planning for the deployment of a peacekeeping force to replace the existing African Union-led mission in Somalia, given the scale of the troubles faced by the African country, Ghana's President John Kufuor told the General Assembly today.
25 September 2007 – The issue of Iran’s nuclear activities is a matter only for the United Nations atomic watchdog now and not the Security Council, the country’s President told the General Assembly today as he accused “arrogant powers” of abusing the Council to prevent Iran enjoying its rights and entitlements.
25 September 2007 – The campaign for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty has “reached a decisive moment,” Italy’s Prime Minister told the General Assembly tonight, as he called on United Nations Member States to adopt a draft resolution on the issue.
25 September 2007 – The Security Council today established a United Nations-mandated, multidimensional presence, which will include European Union military forces, in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR) to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in the two countries and neighbouring Sudan.
25 September 2007 – Participants at a top-level Security Council meeting today on the challenges to peace and security faced by Africa voiced support for bolstering the cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union (AU).
25 September 2007 – The range of today’s global challenges requires a stronger United Nations that is more representative, transparent and effective, Portugal’s Prime Minister told the General Assembly today, calling for reform of the world’s leading multilateral forum.
25 September 2007 – Strengthening the effectiveness of the United Nations is crucial to the world’s common future because it is the sole forum where meaningful joint agreements can be struck to meet global challenges, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate tonight.
25 September 2007 – United States President George W. Bush today told the General Assembly that he supports a “strong and vibrant” United Nations empowered to carry out the shared goals of the world body and its host country, from addressing global pandemics to stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to dealing with climate change.
24 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the authorities in Myanmar to exercise restraint in dealing with the recent wave of peaceful protests, saying he hopes they will spur dialogue between the Government and other groups on promoting national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights.
24 September 2007 – Iran’s nuclear programme, the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan and reform of the United Nations system were the focus of talks today between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at UN Headquarters in New York.
22 September 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today emerged from a high-level meeting on Iraq he convened with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki calling for international action to help the country and pledging full UN support in this effort.
21 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the creation of a trust fund to support next month’s Darfur peace talks after chairing a high-level meeting in which more than two dozen countries and regional groups pledged their support for the joint road map of the United Nations and African Union to end the conflict in the war-wracked Sudanese region.
21 September 2007 – The General Assembly today agreed to consider 163 agenda items during the annual session that began this week but decided for the fifteenth consecutive year to exclude a bid by some Member States to discuss the representation of Taiwan, Province of China in the world body.
21 September 2007 – Expressing concern at reports of yesterday’s deadly incident in Georgia between units of the Ministry of the Interior and Abkhaz de facto personnel, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for restraint on all sides.
21 September 2007 – The United Nations has no choice but to keep using the Secretary-General’s good offices to try to find solutions to the challenges facing Myanmar, the UN envoy to the country has told the Security Council in a briefing following the recent wave of peaceful protests in the Asian nation that led to numerous arrests by authorities.
20 September 2007 – The situation on the ground in the Middle East is volatile and “calculated risks” are necessary to achieve peace, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today, ahead of a series of high-level meetings to be held this weekend.
20 September 2007 – Recognizing the continuing challenges Liberia faces as it seeks to rebuild after a 14-year civil war, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in the country while endorsing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for the drawdown of the level of blue helmets there.
20 September 2007 – The Security Council today strongly condemned yesterday’s terrorist attack in the Lebanese capital Beirut that killed at least seven people, including the parliamentarian Antoine Ghanem.
20 September 2007 – Voicing its concern about increased violence and terrorism in Afghanistan, the Security Council has approved the extension of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the country for another year, with the Russian Federation abstaining on the vote.
20 September 2007 – The United Nations said today that it has still not received any offers for some essential units of the hybrid peacekeeping force it plans to deploy with the African Union in the war-wracked Sudanese region of Darfur.
20 September 2007 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the 1994 Rwandan genocide says it will not succeed in meeting the Security Council-imposed timetable for completing its work unless UN Member States help to arrest suspects still at large, accept the transfer of cases and provide enough funds for it to conduct the remaining trials.
19 September 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned today’s assassination of a Lebanese lawmaker, who was killed along with at least eight others after an apparent car bomb attack in the capital, Beirut.
19 September 2007 – Over 80 countries have reported to the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions imposed against Iran, the chairman of that panel said today.
19 September 2007 – The Security Council today commended Sierra Leone on the recent holding of presidential elections and called for continued international support as the West African nation proceeds on its path to peace and security.
19 September 2007 – Wrapping up his three-year term as the top United Nations envoy in Iraq, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Ashraf Qazi has completed a tour of the northern region of the strife-torn country, assuring Kurdish leaders there of continued UN cooperation and consultation.
18 September 2007 – Climate change, financing for development, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), management reform and counter-terrorism should all receive priority attention from the General Assembly over the next year, the incoming president Srgjan Kerim said today as he opened its sixty-second session.
18 September 2007 – As leaders from across the world prepare to gather for the United Nations General Assembly’s annual debate next week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today predicted an unprecedented level of diplomatic activity aimed at forging common strategies in response to shared concerns.
17 September 2007 – The humanitarian situation inside Darfur deteriorated further last month, with thousands of civilians fleeing their homes, camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) becoming increasingly crowded and recent heavy rains only adding to the misery of many locals in the war-ravaged Sudanese region, according to a United Nations report released today.
17 September 2007 – Stepping up his fight to reinforce nuclear security and prevent nuclear terrorism, the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency today called on all countries to ratify an international agreement strengthening the protection of nuclear materials.
17 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern at the recent surge in fighting across the war-torn Darfur region in Sudan, warning that it jeopardizes the chances of success of the peace talks being held next month to try to end the conflict.
17 September 2007 – Prosecutors at the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Rwandan genocide today urged its judges to sentence to 12 years’ imprisonment a former mayor who has pleaded guilty to a charge of extermination as a crime against humanity.
14 September 2007 – The Security Council today agreed to extend the mandates of the current chief prosecutors at the United Nations war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
13 September 2007 – Intensified efforts are crucial to consolidate peace in Burundi and thwart a relapse into violence and chaos, the leader of a United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) fact-finding mission to the small Central African nation, which suffered decades of ethnic conflict pitting the Hutu majority against the Tutsi minority, said today.
12 September 2007 – Member States need to recognize the key role played by United Nations police in peacekeeping operations and be willing to contribute experienced officers, particularly for senior positions in the upcoming mission to Darfur, said the UN’s top police officer in Sudan, where the world body will field its largest UN Police contingent ever with over 6,400 officers.
12 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern at the Sudanese Government’s “brutal aerial and ground attack” on a South Darfur town that has left at least 25 civilians dead and took place just days after the United Nations chief visited the war-torn region.
12 September 2007 – The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today welcomed Iran’s agreement on a timeline to address all outstanding issues relating to its nuclear programme.
11 September 2007 – Increased dialogue and negotiation, and not a military solution, are crucial in protecting civilians from the violent clashes wracking the troubled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told the Security Council today.
10 September 2007 – Despite progress in resolving certain matters regarding Iran’s nuclear programme, the United Nations atomic watchdog agency reported today that other important issues still need to be verified, although Iran has agreed to a work plan to settle these within a specific time framework.
10 September 2007 – Welcoming the formation of a new Government in Timor-Leste after recent legislative elections, the Security Council today urged the small South-East Asian country’s political groups to resolve any differences or disputes through only peaceful channels.
8 September 2007 – One day after speaking out against a terrorist blast in Batna, Algeria, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned a car bombing in the city of Dellys.
7 September 2007 – The most basic rights of children are violated in Côte d’Ivoire, the West African country split between the Government-controlled south and the Forces nouvelles-held north since 2002, and there is “an alarming degree of violence against children at the community level,” according to a new United Nations report.
7 September 2007 – An upsurge in fighting between Government forces, renegade troops and rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is hampering efforts to deliver food aid to tens of thousands of people driven from their homes, United Nations agencies reported today.
7 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today strongly condemned yesterday's terrorist bombing which killed and wounded numerous innocent civilians in Algeria and reportedly targeted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's convoy.
7 September 2007 – Aiming to press for an international presence to help protect refugees and displaced persons in Chad, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived today in the capital, N’djamena, where he held talks with the country’s President.
7 September 2007 – Citing the progress made by the once war-shattered Liberia, a top United Nations envoy today recommended a drawdown of peacekeepers who have overseen the West African country’s transition to democracy based on regular security assessments and measurable benchmarks.
7 September 2007 – The United Nations today announced the members of a fact-finding panel tasked with investigating the circumstances surrounding the recent discovery of a potentially hazardous substance at the New York office of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).
6 September 2007 – The planned drawdown of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) is designed to foster stability in the country, which has consolidated democracy in recent years following a devastating civil war, the world body’s senior envoy there said today.
6 September 2007 – Three top United Nations officials in Africa will switch posts to allow the world body to address issues on the continent, especially in Somalia and the Central African Republic (CAR), it was announced today.
5 September 2007 – The President of the Security Council for September today announced that issues affecting Africa will dominate the 15-member body’s work programme this month.
5 September 2007 – The United Nations is making “steady progress” towards setting up its landmark hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur with the African Union (AU), but complex logistical challenges lie ahead and Member States need to provide military contributions before further benchmarks for deployment can be met, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on the mission says.
5 September 2007 – Staffan de Mistura, a veteran of United Nations operations in the Middle East, is slated to become the next top UN envoy in Iraq.
5 September 2007 – Pledging a message of “hope, peace, security… and water,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today met with some of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur and held talks with the leaders of the imminent hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Sudanese region.
4 September 2007 – Despite the recent flare-up of tensions following the announcement of a new Government, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended Timor-Leste on overcoming the crisis of last year that led to the bolstering of the United Nations presence in the country which it helped shepherd to independence in 2002.
4 September 2007 – The top UN official in Iraq is to explore with the Government and a full range of political leaders the activities that the United Nations can undertake to promote national dialogue and reconciliation following recent political developments.
3 September 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Sudan today to “lock in progress” made so far to end the crisis in the country's strife-torn Darfur region and observe first-hand the situation on the ground ahead of the deployment of a massive joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation.
31 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council that he intends to appoint Australian Mike Smith as the new head of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee’s Executive Directorate.
31 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched an immediate internal investigation backed by outside expertise to determine how potentially hazardous material removed by United Nations arms inspectors from Iraq in 1996 ended up in a UN office instead of a properly equipped laboratory and remained there undetected for the past 11 years.
31 August 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo announced today that municipal, assembly and mayoral elections will be held on 17 November in the Serbian province administered by the United Nations since 1999.
30 August 2007 – The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has circulated his latest report on the nuclear programme of Iran to the agency’s Board of Governors.
30 August 2007 – United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq archiving their headquarters in New York have discovered vials that may contain a potentially deadly chemical removed from an Iraqi facility 11 years ago, but they said today that the containers are properly secured and pose no immediate threat to the public.
29 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaves United Nations Headquarters tonight for a working trip that will begin in Turin, Italy, with a three-day retreat of senior UN staff and then follow with a visit to Sudan, Chad and Libya to observe first-hand the crises in Darfur and eastern Chad and the post-conflict situation in southern Sudan.
29 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed concern about the rising tensions and violence over the past week in Sierra Leone, which earlier this month held its first presidential and parliamentary polls since United Nations peacekeepers departed in 2005.
29 August 2007 – The substantive dialogue developing between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as recent intensive efforts at international diplomacy, means the United Nations envoy to the Middle East is “guardedly optimistic” about the prospects for the region, he told the Security Council today.
28 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today that he will travel next week to Sudan, Chad and Libya, as he outlined a three-part strategy to deal with the Darfur crisis by ensuring that peacekeepers are deployed quickly and effectively, humanitarian aid and development is more easily available and the peace process pushes forward.
28 August 2007 – Iran has addressed the questions of the United Nations nuclear watchdog about its past plutonium programme and both parties now consider that matter resolved, according to a statement posted on the UN agency’s website.
28 August 2007 – Conflicts between and within nations have grown so complex in recent years that the United Nations’ capacity to deal with the world’s most difficult crises needs to be enhanced, the Security Council stressed today.
28 August 2007 – The Sudanese Government has not moved to arrest two suspects wanted to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s war-wracked Darfur region, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today, calling on Khartoum to cooperate immediately with the court.
27 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Major-General Zhao Jingmin as the new Force Commander for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the first time that the world body has had a Chinese national head one of its missions.
27 August 2007 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent peaceful staging of the first round of Sierra Leone’s presidential and parliamentary elections and called on the country’s people to maintain their respect for independent national institutions and processes during the upcoming presidential run-off process.
27 August 2007 – The Security Council said today it is ready to establish a United Nations-mandated, multidimensional presence in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR) to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in the two countries and neighbouring Sudan.
24 August 2007 – The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by another year and called on all parties in the region to play their part to turn last year’s cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah into a permanent ceasefire and a more durable solution.
24 August 2007 – A top United Nations official in Sudan is taking part today in an African Union (AU) meeting being held to review the progress made so far towards implementing the comprehensive peace agreement that ended the long-running civil war between north and south.
23 August 2007 – The United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon (UNIFIL) today welcomed the reported progress in the investigation of the terrorist attack on its military police last month with the arrest of two suspects.
22 August 2007 – The United Nations Middle East envoy is in Jerusalem today for talks with Israeli and Palestinian political leaders on the need for dialogue between the two sides and to help prepare for a future meeting of the Quartet, the international diplomatic grouping trying to resolve the conflict.
22 August 2007 – Sudan’s armed forces missed a deadline last month to re-deploy out of the south of the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report charting the progress being made on implementing the comprehensive peace agreement ending the long-running north-south civil war.
22 August 2007 – The United Nations refugee agency has provided basic supplies to some 5,000 displaced people living in makeshift shelters in the southern Somalia town of Baidoa, a market area and seat of the country’s interim parliament, while cautioning that more assistance is necessary.
21 August 2007 – The Sudanese military and allied armed groups abducted women and girls and kept many as sex slaves for a month after an attack on villages in Darfur near the end of last year, the United Nations human rights office reported today, saying the abuses may constitute war crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and naming individuals who could be held responsible.
21 August 2007 – Experts from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Iran to hold talks as part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to the country’s past nuclear programme and to clarify safeguards implementation issues.
20 August 2007 – The Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the African Union-led mission in Somalia by six months while approving continued contingency planning for a possible United Nations peacekeeping operation in the war-ravaged country.
20 August 2007 – Visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari laid wreaths at the memorial centre of the United Nations compound in Baghdad yesterday to pay tribute to the 22 people killed in the terrorist bomb attack exactly four years earlier on the then-UN headquarters, the Canal Hotel.
20 August 2007 – The war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor has been postponed until early next year after judges at the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) agreed today to give defence lawyers more time to study the evidence.
17 August 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called on the authorities to reinforce protection for the media following the murders of a journalist and local government official in the strife-torn eastern region of the vast country.
17 August 2007 – United Nations staff members across the globe today solemnly commemorated the fourth anniversary of the bombing at Baghdad’s Canal Hotel, where nearly two dozen people were killed and scores more injured in the deadliest attack against the world body’s civilian personnel in history.
16 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has unveiled revised plans for a United Nations presence in the troubled east of Chad and northeast of the Central African Republic (CAR), proposing that the European Union (EU) field a military force and the UN focus on training police and civilian areas such as human rights and the rule of law.
16 August 2007 – Although Liberia faces formidable challenges as it rebuilds after a brutal 14-year civil war, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the drawdown of the level of blue helmets in the West African nation.
16 August 2007 – The Security Council today condemned this week's series of coordinated bombings in northern Iraq that killed hundreds of people and left many more wounded, urging the country's people to end their continuing sectarian violence.
13 August 2007 – The latest round of United Nations-sponsored talks on Western Sahara has ended with the parties, Morocco and Frente Polisario, in agreement that the status quo is unacceptable and the process of negotiations will continue.
13 August 2007 – A senior United Nations official has called for decisive action to ensure the freedom and safety of the media in Somalia following the weekend killing of two prominent journalists in the strife-torn Horn of Africa country.
10 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that a new Security Council resolution on the work of the United Nations in Iraq paves the way for the world body to “enhance” its role in such key areas as national reconciliation, regional dialogue, humanitarian assistance and human rights.
10 August 2007 – The Security Council today extended by six months its arms embargo against militia groups operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and condemned the continuing illicit flow of weapons into and around the vast African country.
10 August 2007 – The second round of United Nations-led negotiations on Western Sahara began this morning outside New York with a call on the participants to ensure that the talks are productive and conducted in good faith.
9 August 2007 – The Security Council today welcomed the progress made during “pre-negotiation” talks last weekend with some of Darfur’s rebel groups and called on all sides to the conflict to now show their commitment to the peace process by ending their hostilities.
9 August 2007 – Senior United Nations officials will tomorrow hold their first round of high-level consultations with the Government of Southern Sudan to see how to better implement the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that ended the country’s protracted north-south war.
9 August 2007 – A second round of United Nations-backed talks on Western Sahara will begin on Friday outside of New York, a spokesman for the world body announced today.
7 August 2007 – There is strong consensus within the Security Council on an expanded United Nations role in Iraq, the world organization’s top political officer said today, although he said security constraints imposed by the continuing conflict in the country would mean only a small increase in UN staff there.
7 August 2007 – The United Nations is on target to deploy a mainly African hybrid peace force in the war-wracked Sudanese region of Darfur on schedule, but needs more offers from countries on critical capacities such as aviation and ground transport, a senior UN peacekeeping official said today.
6 August 2007 – Darfurian rebel groups attending United Nations-sponsored “pre-negotiation” talks over the weekend have agreed to work together to try to devise a solution to the deadly conflict that has devastated the Sudanese region since 2003.
3 August 2007 – The United Nations’ top legal official today sent a letter inviting UN Member States to submit names of candidates to be considered as international judges of an independent tribunal to try the suspected killers of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
3 August 2007 – The Security Council today voiced grave concern at persistent reports that the arms embargo along the Lebanese-Syrian border has been breached, militias in Lebanon are re-arming and there have been increasing Israeli violations of Lebanese air space, and urged all sides to cooperate fully with the United Nations to achieve a permanent ceasefire.
3 August 2007 – The United Nations in collaboration with Sierra Leone’s Government today concluded a three-day workshop for national police officers covering gender issues, human rights, mediation and other topics aimed at ensuring next week’s parliamentary and presidential elections are free of violence in the formerly war-torn West African nation.
3 August 2007 – The United Nations and African Union envoys tasked with reviving the Darfur peace process are preparing for talks starting this evening with leading figures from rebel groups that have not signed a key agreement aimed at bringing an end to the violence wracking the Sudanese region.
2 August 2007 – The August work programme for the Security Council will focus largely on issues affecting Africa, its President for the month announced today.
1 August 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed an agreement to have a troika comprised of the European Union, Russian Federation and United States lead further negotiations on the future status of Kosovo, the Serbian province administered by the United Nations since 1999.
1 August 2007 – The newly authorized hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur can serve as a major step towards saving the lives of vulnerable women and girls in the violence-wracked Sudanese region, the head of a UN women’s institute said today.
31 July 2007 – The Security Council today approved the creation of a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to quell the violence and instability plaguing the Darfur region of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes.
30 July 2007 – United Nations election monitors will this week begin their second visit to Nepal as part of the world body’s efforts to support the staging of Constituent Assembly polls there later this year.
30 July 2007 – The Security Council today agreed to extend the mandate by six months of the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000, voicing concern about the ongoing tensions between the two African neighbours.
26 July 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal said today that while the peace process in the Himalayan nation is on track, it is vital to create a conducive political and security climate for the holding of credible elections next month.
26 July 2007 – United Nations officials will boycott a commission set up jointly by Indonesia and Timor-Leste to foster reconciliation after the latter’s bloody struggle for independence, unless it is precluded from recommending amnesty for crimes against humanity and other gross violations of human rights.
25 July 2007 – The United Nations Middle East envoy today voiced optimism on recent political developments, most notably the re-engagement of the international community and Israel with the Government of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.
23 July 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the Government and Abkhaz sides in Georgia to bolster cooperation on security, economic and humanitarian issues.
23 July 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands inviting the country’s Government to consider hosting the Special Tribunal on the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
23 July 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution extending by six months the mandate of a group of experts monitoring the flow of arms to and through Somalia.
23 July 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today urged key players to seek a political solution to the ongoing crisis in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where insecurity has led to the displacement of some 700,000 people.
20 July 2007 – Pledging the support of the United Nations in efforts to resolve the stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the two countries to uphold their commitment signed agreements.
20 July 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal and the leader of the Maoists today agreed on the resumption of the second phase of registration and verification of Maoist army personnel – to ensure that no minors are serving – as soon as possible.
20 July 2007 – The President of Timor-Leste has congratulated the more than 250 United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) from 70 countries who supported the country’s elections this year.
20 July 2007 – The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict today adopted recommendations regarding children in armed conflict in Uganda and Somalia, as well as examining recent reports by the Secretary-General on the situation in Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
19 July 2007 – The United Nations top peacekeeping official today appealed for a political – and not a military – solution to diffuse tensions in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
19 July 2007 – The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East – comprising the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and the United States – today supported US President Bush’s call for an international meeting in the fall.
19 July 2007 – The head of the United Nations Independent International Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) probing the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri today reported progress in identifying persons suspected of involvement in the attack.
17 July 2007 – Condemning recent attacks against civilians in Afghanistan, the Security Council today affirmed its support for recent initiatives aimed at enhancing security, stability and development in the war-torn nation.
16 July 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to push for action to facilitate the speedy deployment of peacekeepers to the troubled Darfur region of Sudan, while at the same time moving decisively to foster a lasting political settlement to the conflict there.
16 July 2007 – The Security Council today extended until mid-January 2008 the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and French forces supporting it to support the holding of free and fair elections in the West African country.
13 July 2007 – A former mayor pleaded guilty today before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Rwandan genocide to a charge of extermination as a crime against humanity over his role in the mass killings that engulfed the small country in 1994.
13 July 2007 – The United Nations nuclear watchdog announced today that it has reached agreement with Iranian authorities to allow new inspections and safeguards at some of its key facilities.
13 July 2007 – The United Nations envoy tasked with re-energizing the peace process in Darfur is holding talks today in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, ahead of a key meeting to assess recent progress towards finding peace in the war-torn Sudanese region.
13 July 2007 – The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) has reached an agreement with the United Kingdom that will mean the notorious former Liberian president Charles Taylor will be imprisoned in the UK if he is convicted on war crimes charges.
12 July 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today sent to the Security Council the latest report of the independent commission charged with investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and many other killings in the Middle Eastern country.
12 July 2007 – More than a dozen West African nations met with donors and international organizations at a meeting sponsored by the United Nations this week to discuss regional technical needs to bolster regional counter-terrorism measures.
12 July 2007 – Two days of United Nations-backed discussions to discuss putting into practice a Security Council resolution to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by non-State actors for terrorist purposes have concluded.
11 July 2007 – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for greater international support to Guinea-Bissau and other African nations emerging from conflict, following a visit to the small West African nation last week.
11 July 2007 – The Security Council today welcomed news that United Nations-sponsored talks on Western Sahara between Morocco and the Frente Polisario, along with neighbours Algeria and Mauritania, are set to resume next month, voicing hope that “substantial negotiations” will take place.
10 July 2007 – Lebanon is mired in a debilitating political crisis, facing continuing attacks aimed at undermining its sovereignty and territorial integrity, which makes it harder to fully implement the Security Council resolution ending last year’s war between Israel and Hizbollah, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.
10 July 2007 – Voicing concern about the “alarming increase in organized crime, drug trafficking and the proliferation of illicit small arms in Guinea-Bissau,” the Security Council today called on the international community to step up its efforts to bolster the security institutions of the small African country.
10 July 2007 – Piracy off the cost of Somalia is threatening commercial shipping and fishing while impeding the delivery of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of Somalis, the heads of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) said jointly today in an appeal for action to halt the practice.
10 July 2007 – Sixteen West African countries are set to meet with donors at a United Nations-hosted meeting tomorrow to discuss a more targeted and regional approach to strengthening their ability to fight terrorism both within their borders and across the region.
9 July 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has assured Guinea-Bissau of the world body’s support in organizing and monitoring the parliamentary elections to be held next year in the small West African country, which has witnessed rising political and social tensions, and a deteriorating economic situation.
9 July 2007 – The Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) met today with senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to discuss recent violence in the region.
9 July 2007 – The Security Council today condemned last week’s suicide car bombing near a popular tourist site in Yemen that claimed the lives of nine people, stressing the need to bring the sponsors as well as the perpetrators of all terrorist attacks to justice.
9 July 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo today urged the Security Council to quickly draw up a roadmap for determining the status of the province, which the world body has administered since NATO troops drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999.
5 July 2007 – Kosovo’s overall progress towards building a functioning economy and establishing democratic institutions of self-government has been encouraging, but those advances could soon unravel unless the Serbian province’s future status is determined, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.
3 July 2007 – The crises and conflicts in Africa and the Middle East are expected to dominate the agenda at the Security Council this month, its President for July, Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, said today.
3 July 2007 – The Security Council today called on authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) to hold a dialogue with the country’s opposition forces and civil society groups amid mounting concern at the continuing violence and instability in the impoverished country.
2 July 2007 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) is already moderating the behaviour of countries and raising awareness among local communities about their right to be protected from war crimes, even before its first case has gone to trial, the Court’s Prosecutor has said.
29 June 2007 – United Nations Security Council members today expressed their full support for the Timor-Leste parliamentary elections to be held tomorrow and called on the country’s people to ensure that the polls are free, fair and peaceful.
29 June 2007 – Closing a chapter it opened over 16 years ago, the Security Council today terminated the mandate of United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq, with the Russian Federation abstaining during voting on a resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom and the United States.
29 June 2007 – The Security Council today welcomed and agreed to the appointment of Miroslav Lajcák of Slovakia as the new High Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
29 June 2007 – The Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire joined forces to denounce today’s deadly rocket attack on a plane carrying the country’s Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.
29 June 2007 – The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) met today with potential contributors of troops and police to the planned African Union-UN hybrid operation for the violence-wracked Darfur region in Sudan.
28 June 2007 – The Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today held an open meeting with local authorities from the towns and villages in the eastern sector of the mission’s area of operations as part of efforts to strengthen ties with communities.
28 June 2007 – Wrapping up a five-day official visit to Myanmar, the United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict today its Government has agreed to name an official to deal with the plight of the country’s young in cooperation with the UN.
28 June 2007 – The Security Council today called on the international community to maintain its financial support of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), saying the war crimes tribunal needs more help to complete its efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes during the country’s prolonged civil war.
28 June 2007 – Escalating violence in Mogadishu this month has forced more than 3,500 people to flee the Somali capital in recent weeks, the United Nations refugee agency has reported.
28 June 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq today pledged the world body’s full support for the country’s constitutional review process.
27 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon backs the recommendations contained in the report of the independent United Nations team tasked with assessing the monitoring of the Lebanese border with Syria, his spokesperson announced today.
27 June 2007 – As political campaigning concluded throughout Timor-Leste today, the senior United Nations envoy to the nascent country commended all political parties and the Timorese people for the largely peaceful manner in which the process was conducted.
27 June 2007 – A senior United Nations peacekeeping official said today that the world body is stepping up its preparations for the heavy support package to the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, while efforts are under way to establish a hybrid UN-African Union force.
26 June 2007 – A new agreement between the Security Council and its African Union (AU) counterpart will allow the two bodies to better harmonize their actions in the interest of international peace and security, the Council heard today.
25 June 2007 – The International Atomic Energy Agency today announced that following talks in Vienna between its chief and a senior official from Tehran, the IAEA will send a team to Iran as part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues over the country's nuclear ambitions.
25 June 2007 – The exploitation of natural resources from diamonds to timber can trigger or fuel conflicts but their effective management can also contribute to post-conflict recovery, the Security Council said today.
25 June 2007 – The Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have strongly condemned yesterday’s bomb attack in southern Lebanon that killed six UN peacekeepers and seriously wounded two others.
22 June 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today called for greater protection for civilians, who continue to account for the majority of casualties in situations of armed conflict.
21 June 2007 – The chairman of the United Nations committee monitoring sanctions on Iran in relation to its uranium enrichment activities briefed the Security Council today on Member States’ implementation measures.
21 June 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the 17 June agreement between Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza and Agathon Rwasa, leader of the Palipehutu-National Liberation Forces (PALIPEHUTU-FNL), to implement the ceasefire they reached last year.
20 June 2007 – Members of the Security Council wrapped up their week-long mission to Africa today, holding meetings with United Nations and Government officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
20 June 2007 – Hamas’ violent seizure of de facto political authority in Gaza, the demise of the Palestinian National Unity Government and the declaration of a state of emergency by President Mahmoud Abbas have created new political realities and worrying conditions across the occupied Palestinian territory, the United Nations Middle East envoy warned today.
20 June 2007 – The Security Council today extended for a further six months the mandate of the UN force monitoring the long-standing ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.
20 June 2007 – The Security Council today called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to set up a panel of financial and diamond experts to renew investigations of whether UN sanctions against Liberia are being broken after learning of “credible allegations” that the notorious former president Charles Taylor may still have access to considerable wealth.
20 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed a senior United Nations political officer as his Deputy Special Representative for Nepal and deputy head of the UN mission in that country (UNMIN), his spokesperson announced today.
19 June 2007 – The Security Council delegation visiting Africa wrapped up its visit today to Côte d’Ivoire, where the role of the United Nations in staging elections scheduled for later this year was the focus of discussions with the leaders of the divided West African country.
19 June 2007 – United Nations-sponsored talks on Western Sahara between Morocco and the Frente Polisario – along with neighbours Algeria and Mauritania – concluded today outside New York with the parties promising to resume the negotiations again in August.
18 June 2007 – Senior officials from United Nations war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia today called for efforts to capture a number of infamous fugitives known to be hiding from justice in different countries.
18 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly deplored the rocket attack launched from southern Lebanon at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, calling it the most the serious violation of the Blue Line since the end of last year’s war in the region.
18 June 2007 – The Security Council has asked the independent commission charged with investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and other killings to help the country’s authorities probe last week’s murder of the lawmaker Walid Eido.
18 June 2007 – In response to an invitation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to visit the country for talks, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today that he is dispatching a team to Pyongyang next week.
18 June 2007 – Talks carried out under United Nations auspices on Western Sahara began today outside of New York, with the participation of representatives of the parties – Morocco and the Frente Polisario – along with neighbours Algeria and Mauritania, a spokesperson for the world body announced.
17 June 2007 – Sudan’s Government has agreed to support unconditionally the deployment of a hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in the Darfur region following talks in Khartoum with a delegation of the Security Council, which said that it would seek funding for the operation from the UN budget.
16 June 2007 – Members of the diplomatic Quartet – the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and United States – today voiced “deep concern over the welfare and security of all Palestinians, especially those in Gaza, whose lives have been most seriously affected by the ongoing crisis.”
16 June 2007 – The United Nations Security Council and its African Union (AU) counterpart today agreed to bolster their collaboration in addressing conflict and building peace.
15 June 2007 – The first stop for members of the United Nations Security Council travelling on a week-long mission to Africa will be the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where they will focus on cooperation between the world body and the African Union (AU), as well as ongoing efforts for peace and development in Sudan and Somalia.
15 June 2007 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) through mid-December while noting the current stalemate on the issue.
14 June 2007 – Joining a chorus of UN officials led by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decried the bombing of the al-Askari shrine in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra.
14 June 2007 – Members of the United Nations Security Council leave today on a weeklong mission to Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in support of ongoing peace efforts in Africa.
14 June 2007 – The Security Council today signalled the need for contingency planning for a new United Nations mission in Somalia, which has been wracked by violent clashes and massive displacement in recent months but where observers also see hope for reconciliation.
14 June 2007 – The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the 1994 Rwandan genocide says it expects to double the number of completed trials by the end of next year, leaving only a handful of trials remaining involving detainees in its custody.
13 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned today’s bombing in the Lebanese capital that has killed a parliamentarian, his son and at least six others, calling it “a heinous crime aimed at destabilizing Lebanon.”
13 June 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his envoy to Iraq today strongly condemned the attack against holy shrines in Samarra, where a blast last February triggered a wave of deadly sectarian violence across the country.
13 June 2007 – On the eve of its mission to Africa, the Security Council today called for the full implementation of an agreement reached to deploy a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to the violence-stricken Darfur region of Sudan.
12 June 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal today announced the planned start this week of the second phase of monitoring Maoist army personnel in the country to ensure that no minors are serving.
12 June 2007 – The Sudanese Government today announced its acceptance of the proposal for a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation to be deployed to the violence-wracked Darfur region after the UN and AU issued clarifications about the mandate, structure, components and tasks of the force.
12 June 2007 – With campaigning for Timor-Leste’s parliamentary elections in full swing, the senior United Nations envoy to the country today called on all concerned to ensure a democratic process.
11 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today deplored the killing of two Lebanese Red Cross workers and the wounding of a member of delegation of clerics at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon that has been the scene of fierce fighting for three weeks.
11 June 2007 – Several recent initiatives have displayed a new level of solidarity in tackling the impact of the crisis in Iraq, where the situation remains “precarious” amid continuing attacks on people, structures and the country’s political institutions, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report released today.
11 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said he would seek an investigation of new allegations about the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), while an official from the agency supported the initiative but said on first review the claims do not correspond with its records.
11 June 2007 – Seizing a fragile opportunity for peace in “shattered” Somalia will require more international troops on the ground, greater outreach by the Government to political opponents and a constructive role by the neighbouring countries, the United Nations’ top political official said Monday in Addis Ababa while wrapping up a tour of the Horn of Africa.
11 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has begun the steps and measures to formally establish a special tribunal to try the suspected killers of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, after Lebanon missed a deadline to ratify the tribunal itself.
8 June 2007 – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro joined officials from the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone today in appealing for an additional $60 million to complete the Court’s work by the end of 2009.
8 June 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur today laid out “a road map towards peace” in the war-ravaged region of the Sudan, calling on all parties to cease hostilities and prepare for forthcoming negotiations.
8 June 2007 – During an unannounced visit to Mogadishu today, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs expressed solidarity with the people of Somalia while encouraging the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government to reach out to their opponents for the sake of peace and reconciliation in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.
7 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says another six-month extension of the United Nations force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights is essential given continuing tension in the region.
7 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended a six-month extension of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) while pointing out that some are questioning the value it adds in the absence of political progress.
7 June 2007 – Briefing the Security Council today, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) called for the arrest of the two suspects wanted to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s conflict-wracked Darfur region.
6 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has transmitted his revised report to the Security Council regarding the planned hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission for the violence-wracked Darfur region of Sudan.
6 June 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today urged justice for the victims of Iraq’s 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of Kuwait.
5 June 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Iraqi Government to bring to justice those responsible for killings that occurred during the 1990 invasion and subsequent occupation of Kuwait.
5 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked today’s 40th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War with a reminder to all sides that Palestinian statehood, security for Israelis and peace in the region cannot be achieved by force.
4 June 2007 – The United Nations Security Council will have a “fairly heavy programme” this month, dominated by African subjects and including a visit to the continent, its President for June said today.
4 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today that he will dispatch the world body’s top political officer to the Horn of Africa to discuss how to bring peace and stabilization to troubled Somalia.
4 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today’s start of the war crimes trial of the notorious former Liberian president Charles Taylor, calling it “a significant move towards peace and reconciliation” in West Africa.
4 June 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited Morocco and the Frente Polisario to talks, along with their neighbours Algeria and Mauritania, later this month in an attempt to resolve the long-standing dispute over the status of Western Sahara.
1 June 2007 – The situation in the Middle East remains volatile and tense, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the Security Council today, with fresh clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the resumption of fighting at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
1 June 2007 – An external audit of the United Nations’ activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has found there has been no large-scale or systematic diversion of UN funds provided by the world body’s agencies to help in humanitarian relief efforts, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
1 June 2007 – The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, the notorious former Liberian president, begins on Monday with opening arguments in The Hague before the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).
31 May 2007 – The Military Adviser to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), who is retiring today, said that coping with burgeoning new mandates in recent years has boosted the success of UN operations overall.
31 May 2007 – The planned hybrid United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur will only succeed if its unity and coherence of command are not compromised and the Sudanese Government consents and cooperates, according to a joint report issued by the UN and AU and released today.
31 May 2007 – The top United Nations human rights official today said that she was appalled by the level of sexual and gender-based violence she found in Africa’s Great Lakes region, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
30 May 2007 – The United Nations Security Council and the world body’s top human rights official today urged the Government of Burundi to take steps toward consolidating peace, including by bringing the perpetrators of abuses to justice.
30 May 2007 – The Middle East diplomatic Quartet issued a wide-ranging statement today calling on Israel and the Palestinians to work constructively to create an environment where there can be progress towards Palestinian statehood that is consistent with previous international agreements and resolutions.
30 May 2007 – Endorsing the recent efforts of the Haitian Government and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the impoverished Caribbean country to tackle gang violence and reform the national police, the Security Council today called for further measures to improve the justice system.
30 May 2007 – The Security Council voiced grave concern today at the breakdown of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the subsequent rise in violence across the troubled region.
30 May 2007 – The Security Council agreed today that the special tribunal set up to try the suspected killers of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri will enter into force on 10 June unless Lebanon ratifies the tribunal itself before that date.
29 May 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the recent killing of a United Nations officer in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
29 May 2007 – A five-member United Nations team is heading to Lebanon next week to assess the monitoring of the country’s border with Syria.
29 May 2007 – The President of the United Nations Security Council today said the 15-member body may move Wednesday to vote on a draft resolution on a planned special tribunal to try the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
29 May 2007 – The director of Sudan efforts at the United States Institute for Peace and a scholar associated with several universities has been named by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his new Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.
27 May 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has hailed the world body’s peacekeeping achievements while urging further reforms to allow operations to meet the challenges ahead.
25 May 2007 – A five-member United Nations team is heading to Lebanon next week to assess the monitoring of the country’s border with Syria.
25 May 2007 – To mark Africa Day, United Nations officials today called for bolstered international cooperation to allow the continent to achieve development goals.
25 May 2007 – The Security Council today called for the immediate implementation of a joint report of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) that sets out the mandate and structure for the planned hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission for the violence-wracked Darfur region of Sudan.
24 May 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a report to the Security Council detailing the proposed hybrid African Union (AU)-United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force to stem the deadly violence wracking Sudan’s Darfur region, his spokesperson announced today.
24 May 2007 – United Nations Volunteers (UNV) have been “absolutely crucial” to the accomplishments of the world body’s peacekeeping mission in Liberia, and they will continue to play a vital role as the peacekeeping operation starts changing in the months ahead, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative has said.
24 May 2007 – The recent eruption of violence in the Gaza Strip and its extension into southern Israel illustrates the volatility of the Middle East conflict, and the longer it continues, the greater the long-term threat to prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the United Nations’ political affairs chief told the Security Council today.
24 May 2007 – The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency today called for the development of a new global security system in which nuclear weapons are obsolete.
23 May 2007 – General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa has appointed the ambassadors of Chile and Liechtenstein to conduct consultations with United Nations Member States on how to move forward on reform of the 15-member Security Council.
23 May 2007 – Key political concerns affecting the future of Iraq were discussed during talks between the senior United Nations envoy to the country and the President of the Kurdistan Region, the world body's mission to the country announced today.
23 May 2007 – The Security Council and the United Nations human rights chief today added their voices to mounting UN concern over the fate of civilians caught in the fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam gunmen at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
23 May 2007 – The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today circulated his latest report regarding Iran to the Security Council.
23 May 2007 – While expressing concerns over the still-volatile security situation in Timor-Leste, the United Nations Security Council today lauded the Timorese people for holding credible presidential elections and Jose Ramos-Horta for his victory.
22 May 2007 – By the end of May 2007, assessments of counter-terrorism measures taken by all United Nations Member States will have been presented to the Security Council committee that monitors the global fight against the menace, its chairman said today.
21 May 2007 – Although the Burundian Government has made positive steps to consolidate peace, the small Central African nation still faces considerable obstacles, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned in a new report made discussed by the Security Council today.
21 May 2007 – The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today appealed to the Security Council to step up its efforts to quell the violence and end the suffering in Somalia.
21 May 2007 – The United Nations tribunal set up to try the worst crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide today upheld the life sentence in prison given to a former councilman convicted of genocide, rape and murder as crimes against humanity.
18 May 2007 – The peace process in Côte d’Ivoire needs international support to succeed, a representative of the key negotiator told the United Nations Security Council today.
17 May 2007 – Though it has interviewed some 200 victims and witnesses of the post-election clashes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations mission there said today that Government cooperation with investigators has been tepid and many witnesses have been intimidated.
16 May 2007 – With reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina blocked for over a year and agreements with the European Union (EU) on the table, the country’s leaders must “seize this moment” for progress, the United Nations envoy to the country told the Security Council today.
16 May 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed the United Kingdom’s Michael Williams, a long-time United Nations staffer and foreign policy adviser, to the post of Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
16 May 2007 – The peace process in Côte d’Ivoire has reached “a unique turning point” after the signing of an agreement between the country’s rival political leaders two months ago, but many of the fundamental issues that led to its prolonged crisis remain unresolved, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns today.
16 May 2007 – Top United Nations officials paid tribute to Ugandan troops from the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, after four of their number died and several others were injured in an attack today in the violence-torn capital, Mogadishu.
15 May 2007 – Aiming to help the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) cement stability, the Security Council today extended the deployment of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there until the end of this year.
15 May 2007 – The Security Council should “take necessary action” to ratify the planned special tribunal to try the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because the country’s own efforts to resolve its political impasse on the issue have not succeeded, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
14 May 2007 – In an effort to reinforce the ability of Afghanistan’s legal system to bring narcotics traffickers to justice, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today announced the completion of a new justice support centre in the city of Jalalabad.
14 May 2007 – The top United Nations envoy in Timor-Leste today praised the handling of the ongoing case against a former interior minister who was convicted of arming civilians in the deadly violence that rocked the small South-East Asian country last year.
11 May 2007 – The United Nations Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict has demanded that the parties in Sri Lanka and Nepal demobilize all child soldiers without delay, as it also examined new reports on children caught up in fighting in Uganda and Somalia.
11 May 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Somalia today held meetings in the capital, Mogadishu, with top leaders, urging them to take measures aimed at promoting stability in the country, where relative calm has recently returned following the worst violence there in 16 years.
11 May 2007 – In its continuing bid to help countries bolster their ability to fight terrorism around the globe, the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) has launched an online database containing information about technical assistance both requested by and provided to States.
10 May 2007 – The fragile peace process in Darfur is at a “crossroads,” the United Nations Special Envoy for the strife-torn region said today, as he and his counterpart from the African Union (AU) wrapped up their third joint visit to Sudan.
10 May 2007 – Although the overall security situation in Kosovo is calm, tension is palpable in the ethnic Albanian majority Serbian province that the United Nations has administered since 1999, according to a new report by on last month’s Security Council fact-finding mission made public today.
9 May 2007 – Expressing deep concern about reports of a series of deadly aerial bombardments across North Darfur state during the past three weeks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the Sudanese Government to halt all attacks and comply with the peace agreements it has signed and with international humanitarian law.
8 May 2007 – Voicing concern over increased friction between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have hit a stalemate in efforts to resolve their border dispute, the United Nations Security Council today called on both Horn of Africa countries to refrain from violence.
8 May 2007 – The head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has paid tribute to Judge Claude Jorda of France, whose permanent ill-health has forced him to resign from the body set up under an international treaty to hear trials of individuals charged with acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since 2002.
8 May 2007 – On the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Timor-Leste, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the small country is shoring up security measures with the expectation that the polls will be peaceful.
8 May 2007 – United Nations Member States are asked to share information more widely, run Interpol fingerprints through their own police databases, and pursue other measures to strengthen strictures on the Taliban and Al-Qaida in a report released today by the Security Council Committee in charge of those sanctions.
8 May 2007 – The war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, the notorious former Liberian president, will begin on 4 June with opening arguments, the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone announced today following a pre-trial conference in The Hague.
4 May 2007 – Expressions of regional and international support for Iraq must be translated into sustained and concrete actions or the violence-wracked country may never know any peace, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told foreign ministers taking part in the international meeting on Iraq this week.
4 May 2007 – The military head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today began a series of meetings with local authorities in the south of the country, the start of a concerted effort by the peacekeeping mission to strengthen its relationships with the communities where it operates.
4 May 2007 – Despite the postponement of elections planned for mid-June in Nepal, the peace process in the mountainous country, which recently emerged from a 10-year civil war, is firmly on track, a United Nations envoy said after briefing the Security Council today.
3 May 2007 – Launching a five-year peace and development plan for Iraq today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to assist the violence-plagued country to follow through on commitments for progress in security, unity, resource sharing and other areas.
2 May 2007 – Lebanon’s key political forces have made no progress in ending their deadlock over the ratification of a planned special tribunal to try the suspected killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the United Nations Legal Counsel said today after briefing the Security Council on his recent visit to the country.
2 May 2007 – In a new report made public today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern for the stalemate in the dialogue between Ethiopia and Eritrea, calling for a comprehensive implementation of the Algiers Agreements in 2000 which ended the bloody war between the two East African countries.
2 May 2007 – Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian and Serbian communities continue to lead largely separate existences and have very different outlooks on the future, which means creating an integrated, multi-ethnic society in the province will require “substantial effort,” the head of a Security Council fact-finding mission said today.
2 May 2007 – Less than a week after the Security Council lifted its sanctions on the export of “blood diamonds” from Liberia, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the West African country today handed over a regional diamond certification office to the Government.
1 May 2007 – Twelve United Nations experts united to voice their deep concern today about the recent violence in the Somali capital Mogadishu, where hundreds of people have been killed in the latest clashes and hundreds of thousands forced to flee in recent months.
1 May 2007 – Graduates of a United Nations skills training programme in Liberia, where the world body is working to help consolidate stability as the country recovers from conflict, should use their training to become more self-reliant, the senior UN military official has said.
1 May 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal today said an announced postponement in Constituent Assembly elections planned for June should offer time to address critical concerns in the country, where a decade-long armed conflict that killed some 13,000 people came to a formal end when the parties signed a peace accord last November.
1 May 2007 – Delegates attending the United Nations Committee on Information meeting in New York today called for new measures to make the world body’s website more thoroughly multilingual.
30 April 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Liberia today welcomed the Security Council’s decision to lift its six-year-old ban on the export of diamonds from the country that was introduced to stop proceeds from the sale of these so-called “blood diamonds” from fuelling wars across West Africa.
30 April 2007 – Security Council sanctions are most effective when they aim for a clear goal using incentives and not just threats, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a symposium on the issue today.
30 April 2007 – Deeply deploring the civilian deaths resulting from renewed fighting in Somalia, the Security Council today urged the country’s Government to reach out to all segments of the war-torn country’s society, while demanding that the warring parties allow relief aid to reach those in need.
30 April 2007 – The United Nations human rights office in Nepal today called on the country’s Maoists to allow internally displaced persons (IDPs), forced to flee during the decade-long civil war, to return safely to their homes, pointing out that past agreements also call for all confiscated property be given back to these returnees.
30 April 2007 – Voicing grave concern over the dire humanitarian and security situation inside Darfur, an international meeting involving the United Nations, the African Union (AU), Sudan and 14 other countries or regional organizations has stressed the need to find a comprehensive solution to the conflict as soon as possible.
30 April 2007 – Calling upon Morocco and the Polisario Front to jump start long-stalled discussions in “good faith,” the Security Council today extended the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in the Western Sahara by six months.
28 April 2007 – The head of a United Nations Security Council team travelling in the Balkans today said its meetings in Kosovo give cause for confidence on the future of the Serbian province that has been run by the United Nations since Western forces drove Yugoslav troops out in 1999.
27 April 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon heads to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, next week for the formal launch of the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), a five-year peace and development plan which envisages a reciprocal relationship between peace-building and economic prosperity in the war-ravaged country.
27 April 2007 – The United Nations fact-finding mission dispatched to Fiji to assess the political and electoral situation in the Pacific island nation in the wake of the coup d’état last December wrapped up its work today.
27 April 2007 – The peace process in Nepal has made “remarkable progress” since the start of last year, but complex questions remain about how to monitor the management of arms and armed personnel, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report to the Security Council on the situation in the Himalayan country.
27 April 2007 – The Security Council voted today to lift its six-year-old ban on the export of diamonds from Liberia that was introduced to stop proceeds from the sale of these so-called “blood diamonds” from fuelling wars across West Africa.
27 April 2007 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today voiced concern about a paramilitary group which sides with the Government of Sri Lanka against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels that the agency believes is not living up to public assurances to eschew recruitment of children as soldiers to fight in the country’s bloody civil conflict.
27 April 2007 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today condemned a mortar attack on a hospital in the Somali capital Mogadishu, which has been wracked by escalating violence in recent weeks.
26 April 2007 – A Security Council delegation on a fact-finding mission to the Balkans today made a stop in Belgrade to meet with leaders there as the 15-member body deliberates the future of Kosovo, the ethnic Albanian-majority province of Serbia that has been run by the United Nations since Western forces drove Yugoslav troops out in 1999.
26 April 2007 – As auditors comb through the records of United Nations activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) following on a request from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN Development Programme (UNDP) documents are being secured ahead of the impending departure of the agency’s last two staff members, an official said today.
25 April 2007 – Teams from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal today participated in a series of meetings with members of political parties, civil society and local authorities in three districts across the country to discuss human rights in the peace process.
25 April 2007 – Diplomatic initiatives to rejuvenate the Middle East peace process are making some progress, but they are being undermined by the deteriorating security situation on the ground, the United Nations political chief told the Security Council today, urging Israeli and Palestinian leaders to do their utmost to prevent the violence from escalating further.
25 April 2007 – The Security Council delegation heading to Kosovo on a fact-finding trip to help determine the permanent future status of the Serbian province with an ethnic Albanian majority stopped in Brussels today for talks with European Union (EU) and NATO officials.
24 April 2007 – Regional peace and security and the situation in neighbouring Lebanon in the wake of last year’s war topped the agenda during talks today in Damascus between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
24 April 2007 – One year after democracy and human rights demonstrators sparked a series of events that led Nepal to embark on a peace process, the senior United Nations envoy there today said the determination of the country’s people to ensure its success remains a cause for optimism.
24 April 2007 – Somalia has become the most dangerous place in the world for relief workers to operate, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned today, with none of the sides in the deadly fighting that has raged across the capital Mogadishu in recent weeks respecting the rules of war or making any allowance for aid operations.
24 April 2007 – Even after the signing of a peace accord in Côte d’Ivoire, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the West African country still has much work ahead of it, an official for the world body has said.
23 April 2007 – A Security Council delegation heads tomorrow for Kosovo on a fact-finding trip as the 15-member body considers a United Nations envoy’s proposal to grant independence in a phased process to the ethnic Albanian-majority province of Serbia that has been run by the UN since 1999.
23 April 2007 – At the request of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will withdraw its remaining two international staff members from Pyongyang early next month, but both will be able to facilitate an ongoing audit of the agency’s activities in the country, a UN spokesperson announced today.
20 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending a fact-finding mission comprising political, electoral, human rights and development experts to Fiji next week to assess the situation in the Pacific island nation in the wake of last December’s coup d’état.
20 April 2007 – United Nations agencies today said their efforts to deliver aid are being thwarted by the deteriorating security situation in Somalia, where hundreds of thousands of people affected by violence in and around the capital city of Mogadishu face a dire humanitarian situation.
20 April 2007 – The comprehensive peace agreement ending the long-running civil war between north and south in Sudan has reached a delicate stage, with the full and verified redeployment this year of both sides’ forces critical to the deal’s chances of long-term success, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in a new report.
20 April 2007 – The world’s countries remain so divided on the details of Security Council reform – from the question of expansion to the use of the veto to the categories of membership – that a transitional stage of reform may be necessary to break the deadlock, according to a new report canvassing the different positions of United Nations Member States on the issue.
20 April 2007 – It is time for Lebanon’s key political forces to not just express their support for the establishment of a tribunal to try the suspected killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but to demonstrate it, the United Nations Legal Counsel said today as he called on all sides to seek a solution to their impasse on the issue.
20 April 2007 – Acknowledging that Morocco and the Polisario Front have “irreconcilable views” on the future of Western Sahara, a senior United Nations envoy today said talks between the parties offer a chance to break through their long-standing dispute.
19 April 2007 – The United Nations envoy in Liberia this week accompanied national and UN Police officers on a special night patrol to some of the most crime-prone areas of the capital, Monrovia, as part of the world body’s ongoing efforts to reassure the community and improve law and order throughout the country.
19 April 2007 – Children are bearing the brunt of the armed conflict in the Middle East, a senior United Nations official said today as she concluded a two-week mission to Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.
19 April 2007 – The Sudanese Government has announced it will streamline some passport and customs procedures to allow the United Nations to better support the existing African Union peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Darfur region.
19 April 2007 – The United Nations Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel has held talks with Lebanon’s key Government and parliamentary leaders as he continues his visit to try to help the country’s political forces end their impasse and establish a tribunal to try the alleged killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
18 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern today at evidence presented to Security Council members of the flying of arms and heavy weapons into the war-torn region of Darfur, a direct violation of a United Nations embargo.
18 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today recommends a further six-month extension in the mandate of the United Nations mission in the Western Sahara until October, calling also for the Security Council to urge Morocco and the Frente Polisario to start negotiations in an effort to re-start the long-stalled peace process in the region.
18 April 2007 – Voicing concern at reports of illegal arms movements across the Lebanese-Syrian border, which would violate the United Nations resolution ending last year’s conflict between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah, the Security Council has invited Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send an independent mission as soon as possible to assess the monitoring of the entire border.
17 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for a “long-term global response” to deal with climate change, along with unified efforts involving the Security Council, Member States and other international bodies to deal with the problem of scare resources, warning that countries’ lack of access to water, energy and other essentials can lead to conflict.
17 April 2007 – Pledging to bring an open mind to his work, the United Nations legal chief arrived in the Lebanese capital today to help the Government and the country’s other political leaders to end their political impasse and set up a special tribunal as soon as possible to try the suspected killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
16 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today welcomed Sudan’s announcement confirming that it accepts the entire “heavy support package” of troops, police officers, civilian staff and equipment which the United Nations will provide to the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the violence-wracked Darfur region.
16 April 2007 – The implementation of sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK), imposed last October after the country claimed to have conducted a nuclear test, is on track, the head of the Security Council’s sanctions committee said today.
13 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he is dispatching the United Nations legal chief to Lebanon on Monday to help the Government and the country’s other political leaders to end their political impasse and set up a special tribunal as soon as possible to try the suspected killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
13 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will hold talks on Monday with the head of the African Union (AU) in a bid to generate momentum for the peace process in Darfur, where the planned deployment of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force has stalled amid differences with the Sudanese Government.
13 April 2007 – The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has completed the registration and storage of Nepal Army weapons at a barracks in the capital Kathmandu, wrapping up the first phase of a process that has already seen the registration of an equal number of weapons from former Maoist fighters.
13 April 2007 – Stressing the need for dialogue between the Government and Abkhaz sides in Georgia, where fighting 14 years ago drove nearly 300,000 people from their homes, the Security Council today extended the United Nations mission in the country for another 6 months until 15 October.
13 April 2007 – In another example of the ongoing personal contributions made by United Nations uniformed personnel to the countries where they are deployed, a Nigerian police officer serving with the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has provided sets of uniforms and accessories worth $7,000 to the national police there.
13 April 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today condemned in the “strongest terms” the deadly terrorist attack on Iraq’s Parliament, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and urging all States to cooperate with Iraqi authorities.
13 April 2007 – Stressing its commitment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the country’s post-war transition period, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there for another month.
12 April 2007 – Condemning “in the strongest terms” yesterday’s deadly bombings in the Algerian capital, the Security Council today stressed the need to bring the perpetrators and sponsors to account and reiterated that acts of terrorism can never be justified.
12 April 2007 – An eight-member delegation from the newly established United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) – created to prevent countries emerging from civil war and other conflicts from sliding back into bloodshed – is currently visiting Burundi in a bid to help consolidate stability there.
11 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his decision to appoint two new members of the monitoring group established in 2004 to help track the application of United Nations sanctions against the Taliban, Al-Qaida and their operatives.
11 April 2007 – The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has begun registering and storing Nepal Army weapons as part of the world body’s assistance to the peace deal signed between the Government and the Maoists last year that ended over a decade of deadly civil war in the Himalayan country.
9 April 2007 – Thirteen years after some 800,000 Rwandans were murdered by their compatriots in an orchestrated criminal campaign, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for “a global partnership against genocide” and pledged to strengthen United Nations mechanisms to ensure that such an event never happens again.
5 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he would send the United Nations’ legal chief if needed to a planned international meeting to try to end the continuing political impasse in Lebanon, adding it was crucial that the country set up a special tribunal as soon as possible to try the suspected killers of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
5 April 2007 – Last month’s rocket attacks in Georgia’s upper Kodori valley were “a major setback” to efforts to bring peace to the northwest of the country, but there have been other welcome signs of progress recently between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the work of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there.
5 April 2007 – After clashing violently with Government troops in the capital Kinshasa last month, opposition forces and their dependents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) currently under United Nations protection have disarmed, the world body’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) said today.
5 April 2007 – The United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the Sudanese Government will participate in a technical-level meeting on Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to finalize the measures for the UN “heavy support package” to the AU peacekeeping mission in strife-torn Darfur, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
4 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received a memorandum from 70 Lebanese parliamentarians asking him to act under the United Nations Charter and set up a special tribunal to try those alleged responsible for the 2005 assassination of the country’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri, a UN spokesperson confirmed today.
4 April 2007 – The worsening violence and humanitarian situation in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, and its implications for neighbouring countries, along with the global impact of climate change, are among the key issues that will dominate Security Council deliberations this month, its President for April said today.
4 April 2007 – A multi-dimensional international force could be deployed to the troubled northeast of the Central African Republic (CAR) without the approval of neighbouring Chad, which is beset by its own civil strife, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official said today.
4 April 2007 – The Security Council will this month send a delegation to Kosovo, the 15-member body’s President said today, as it considers a United Nations envoy’s proposal for granting independence in a phased process to the ethnic-Albanian majority Serbian province that has been run by the world body since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999.
4 April 2007 – Next week’s landmark presidential election in Timor-Leste, the first in the tiny nation since gaining independence from Indonesia in 2002, is important not only for peace in the country but also for longer-term stability, senior United Nations officials said today, highlighting the world body’s support for the countrywide polls.
3 April 2007 – A United Nations-led fact-finding team is seeking more information on last month’s attack on a Government position in north-west Georgia where fighting between Government and Abkhaz separatist forces 14 years ago drove nearly 300,000 people from their homes.
3 April 2007 – More than 2,000 national and international election observers will monitor next Monday’s landmark presidential elections in Timor-Leste, the first polls held in the tiny nation since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, the United Nations mission to the impoverished country said today.
3 April 2007 – Calling for a shared commitment from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) authorities and political parties to national reconciliation, the Security Council today deplored the recent wave of deadly violence in the African country’s capital and urged all sides to resolve their difference through dialogue.
2 April 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today led United Nations condemnation of the murder of five African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Darfur, saying it illustrates the need to send a hybrid UN-AU force to the war-torn Sudanese region and announcing plans to dispatch a team of experts to Addis Ababa as part of preparations for the planned operation.
1 April 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal today hailed the establishment of the country’s interim Government, while emphasizing that many challenges lie ahead as preparations continue for elections aimed at cementing the democratic transition in the Himalayan country.
31 March 2007 – In the Central African Republic (CAR), where civilians have been caught in the crossfire as rebels fight government troops, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today said the country’s president said any military abuses will be investigated.
31 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited South Lebanon, where he voiced hope that a cessation of hostilities in place since the end of last year’s 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah could be transformed into a permanent ceasefire.
31 March 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo has voiced concern about a recent apparent attack on the Deçan/Deæani monastery, which he said holds great value for the province's Serb community, currently outnumbered nine to one by the ethnic Albanian majority.
30 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Lebanon’s leaders to engage in dialogue to promote national reconciliation as he continued his first visit to the Middle East as the world’s top diplomat.
30 March 2007 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for six more months while asking Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report on plans to draw down the level of blue helmets there.
29 March 2007 – Continuing a diplomatic tour of the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beirut today, where he said dialogue and compromise are key to Lebanon’s national unity.
29 March 2007 – The Security Council voiced alarm today about the political and social tensions in the small, impoverished West African nation of Guinea-Bissau after the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister, and called on Government and legislative leaders to resolve their differences through dialogue.
29 March 2007 – The Security Council today called for an early resolution of the row over Iran’s detention of 15 British marines and sailors, voicing grave concern at the situation and calling for their release, while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed the issue with Iran’s Foreign Minister.
29 March 2007 – A United Nations humanitarian official today appealed to the Security Council for increased funds to allow Zimbabwe to meet the challenges posed by a “triple threat,” a combination of food insecurity, the high incidence of HIV/AIDS and declining social services.
28 March 2007 – Commending the efforts of both sides to implement this month’s peace deal between rival political leaders in the divided West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the agreement earlier this week that has led to the appointment of a new prime minister.
28 March 2007 – Recognizing the vital role of the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union (AU) in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, the Security Council today stressed the importance of boosting the resources and capacity of the African body.
28 March 2007 – Welcoming recent positive developments in Rwanda and other countries of Africa’s Great Lakes region, the United Nations Security Council terminated the requirement that States notify its Committee of the delivery of arms and related materiel to the Government of Rwanda, modifying the sanctions first imposed in 1994 amid widespread ethnic killings that culminated in genocide.
27 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on both the Government and opposition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to shoulder their responsibilities to democracy to ensure a full transition to peace after last year’s historic elections intended to set the seal on decades of civil war and factional fighting.
27 March 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today extended for one year the mandate of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) probing the 2005 terrorist attack that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others.
27 March 2007 – The Security Council today welcomed the removal by Greek Cypriots of a wall in the long-running buffer zone dividing the island into northern and southern segments, voicing hope that similar confidence-building measures will lead to the resumption of talks aimed at reaching a durable peace deal on the Mediterranean island.
26 March 2007 – A ceremony was held today in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, establishing the United Nations-backed Bairro Pite Police Post to bring a permanent law enforcement presence to the most troubled areas of the city which has seen ongoing gang violence.
26 March 2007 – The head of the United Nations body mandated to protect press freedom today called for new measures “to counter the decimation” of media professionals in Iraq following the murder of two more Iraqi journalists.
26 March 2007 – The only viable option for Kosovo is independence, with an initial period of supervision by the international community, the senior United Nations official overseeing the Serbian province’s future status process has concluded in a report endorsed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and sent today to the Security Council.
25 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in Ramallah offered full support for plans by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for achieving Statehood, and stressed that the current critical juncture opens a window of opportunity for peace in the region.
25 March 2007 – One day after the Security Council tightened the sanctions it has imposed against Iran over its uranium-enrichment activities, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for the country to take steps to restore trust that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
24 March 2007 – Iraq, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine and the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region were discussed during talks today in Cairo between President Hosni Mubarak and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said the Egyptian leader is a key partner in dealing with these hotspots.
24 March 2007 – As fighting flared in Somalia, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and steps towards an inclusive political process that can lead to genuine national reconciliation.
24 March 2007 – The United Nations Security Council acted unanimously today to tighten sanctions on Iran, imposing a ban on arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets, in response to the country’s uranium-enrichment activities, which Tehran says are for peaceful purposes but which other countries contend are driven by military ambitions.
23 March 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today called for an end to the violence that has recently flared in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, while urging a political dialogue to bring lasting peace to the war-ravaged country, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.
23 March 2007 – With sporadic fighting continuing in capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for a complete halt to all violence threatening civilians, who have received assistance from the UN mission in the country (MONUC).
23 March 2007 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by another year, welcoming the mission’s recently expanded presence in the provinces and voicing concern at the harm caused by the production and trafficking of opium.
23 March 2007 – The Security Council is set to vote tomorrow afternoon regarding possible further sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear programme, the president of the 15-member body said today, adding that the Iranian Foreign Minister will attend the discussions in New York.
22 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks today in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, other senior political leaders, foreign diplomats and United Nations staff members during an unannounced first stop on the UN chief’s 10-day tour of the Middle East.
22 March 2007 – The United Nations humanitarian chief held talks today with senior Sudanese Government ministers on the first day of his two-week, three-country mission to tackle the crisis in the war-wracked Darfur region and its threat to neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).
22 March 2007 – The United Nations top envoy to Liberia today told the Security Council that although the impoverished West African country, which is rebuilding after a brutal 14-year civil war, has made progress in consolidating stability, numerous threats to peace remain.
22 March 2007 – Enduring political and personal rifts are undermining Guinea-Bissau’s efforts to attract regional and international support, public administration and security sector reforms are vital, and international aid is crucial to help the small West African country fight mounting drug trafficking and organized crime, according to a United Nations report released today.
22 March 2007 – More than 40,000 people reportedly fled Somalia’s strife-torn capital, Mogadishu, last month and growing insecurity has restricted the mobility and access of humanitarian agencies to respond adequately to the situation in the city, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said in its latest update.
22 March 2007 – Welcoming a recent meeting between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has waged a brutal rebellion in the country’s north for two decades, the Security Council today expressed hope that peace talks could soon resume.
22 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have condemned today’s outbreak of fighting in the centre of the capital, Kinshasa, between Government forces and the guards of former Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
22 March 2007 – Top United Nations officials have expressed shock at yesterday’s killings in Nepal of at least 25 people during clashes between political parties in the central part of the country, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and for all sides to resolve their differences through dialogue.
21 March 2007 – Two senior United Nations officials are beginning separate missions to address the humanitarian and political aspects of the crisis in the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur, where efforts to deploy a hybrid UN-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force have stalled over differences with the Sudanese Government.
21 March 2007 – Eritrea has expelled the head of the United Nations mine clearance team in the east African country for what it called “repeated violations of Eritrean laws and regulations” in the latest action against the UN mission set up to monitor the ceasefire that ended a two-year border war with Ethiopia in 2000.
21 March 2007 – Although recent violence in Timor-Leste appears to be abating, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the capital, Dili, continues to rise, prompting the United Nations mission to the South-East Asian country to warn today of possible food shortages.
21 March 2007 – Corruption must be stamped out and borders strengthened to run emerging Afghan drug cartels out of business, particularly in the new ‘Golden Triangle’ of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, the chief United Nations anti-narcotics officer said today.
21 March 2007 – The commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon today reached agreement with senior Lebanese and Israeli military officers on improved coordination, and also discussed the Blue Line that separates the two countries, while in New York a new United Nations report cautioned that much remains to be done to bring long-term stability to the area.
21 March 2007 – The United Nations probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has made good progress over the past three months, the head of the commission told the Security Council today, highlighting an increasing number of interviews carried out and a growing body of evidence gathered regarding the February 2005 killing.
20 March 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today called on both the international community and the war-torn country’s Government to increase efforts to promote reconstruction and bring lasting stability to the “place of hope and challenge.”
20 March 2007 – The head of the United Nations probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri says in a new report that his team expects to develop a “unifying factual theory” behind the crime in the next three months or so, and points to Mr. Hariri’s likely 2005 election victory as a possible motive behind the killing.
19 March 2007 – While progress has been made in Afghanistan in coordinating national and international efforts for development and countering the insurgency in the south, mounting violence from an emboldened insurgency, popular alienation and human rights issues put the country and its partners at “a critical juncture,” according to a new United Nations report.
19 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the recent multiple terrorist bombings using chlorine gas in Iraq which wounded or sickened more than 350 people.
19 March 2007 – There is still “a long way to go” before the United Nations and the Sudanese Government can resolve their differences over the situation in the war-torn Darfur region and the proposed speedy deployment of a hybrid UN-African Union (AU) peacekeeping force to protect civilians and stop the bloodshed there, the top peacekeeping official warned today.
19 March 2007 – Any delay to the process of determining Kosovo’s final status could make a sustainable solution impossible to attain, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Serbian province (UNMIK) told the Security Council today.
16 March 2007 – Despite numerous successes made in Liberia to bolster peace and further economic progress, the impoverished West African country still faces many obstacles including poverty, high unemployment and incapacitated public services, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report, calling on the Security Council to extend the UN peacekeeping mission there for another year.
15 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today received his Special Envoy’s plan for the future status of Kosovo – the ethnic Albanian majority Serbian province that the United Nations has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting – after efforts to reach a compromise with the two sides ended in deadlock.
15 March 2007 – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has promised to consider returning to the United Nations system of safeguards against nuclear weapons proliferation, which they abandoned in 2002, following its commitment last month to dismantle its nuclear arms programme in return for international energy and other aid.
15 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said he had told Sudan’s President that his reply to UN calls for speedy deployment of a United Nations-African Union (AU) hybrid force for Darfur was “not satisfactory,” while dissatisfaction is growing among Member States and intensive diplomacy continues in a bid to end the conflict in the strife-torn region.
15 March 2007 – Security in West Africa is improving, especially in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest regional report to the Security Council, but he adds that despite progress the situation remains fragile and reforms are urgently needed, particularly in the security sector.
15 March 2007 – The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq today pledged the world body’s continued support for the war-torn country, especially through dialogue with its neighbours, while warning of the danger that would be posed by any additional conflicts in the already volatile region.
14 March 2007 – Recent agreements can potentially pave the way for progress in Middle East peace efforts after a year in which hopes seemed to be steadily diminishing, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today, cautioning that success will require action by the parties.
14 March 2007 – Welcoming this month’s peace deal between rival political leaders in the divided West African nation of Côte d’Ivoire, the Security Council today urged both sides to implement all their commitments under the accord to ensure that it takes effect.
14 March 2007 – The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has expressed concern over media reports quoting the chairman of the country’s Maoists as saying the group retains weapons and combatants outside specified cantonment sites, actions that would breach agreements signed under last year’s historic peace deal that ended a decade of civil war in the country.
13 March 2007 – As Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian-led Government and Serbia remain at an impasse on the future of the Albanian-majority Serbian province, a “timely conclusion” to the process to determine its final status is necessary, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council released today.
13 March 2007 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has suspended its operations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and will withdraw all but two of its international staff by the end of this week over the failure to implement conditions set up following reports that UN funds improperly went to the Government.
13 March 2007 – Deploring the recent wave of deadly violence in Somalia, especially in the capital, Mogadishu, Security Council members today underlined the need for the political process in the war-torn country to be as representative and inclusive as possible.
13 March 2007 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency is holding talks this week with officials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on plans to rid it of nuclear weapons in what he calls “the first step in a long process” toward normalizing relations with a country that ordered UN inspectors out more than four years ago.
13 March 2007 – The Central African State of Burundi has made progress in protecting children from the ravages of armed conflict, but more still needs to be done, especially to improve detention facilities for minors charged with belonging to armed groups, the top United Nations envoy on children and armed conflict said today.
12 March 2007 – Welcoming a recent diplomatic meeting on Iraq, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced hope that it would spur progress on key issues, including those affecting its neighbours, which he said must play a constructive role in promoting stability in the country.
12 March 2007 – Following the signing of a peace agreement between the rival leaders in Côte d’Ivoire, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to be ready to provide key help in such fields as disarmament, security sector reform and preparations for elections in the divided West African country.
12 March 2007 – Neither Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian-led Government nor Serbia have shown any will to reach a negotiated accord on the future status of the Serbian province, where Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1, and the senior United Nations official overseeing the issue will submit a “realistic compromise” to the Security Council this month.
12 March 2007 – Stressing the need to end the suffering in conflict-torn Northern Uganda, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the latest pledges by the parties to hold their fire and voiced hope that formal peace negotiations will soon resume.
12 March 2007 – Sudan’s Government should fully cooperate with the immediate deployment of a United Nations-African Union (AU) hybrid force for Darfur and end the targeting of civilians, while all armed rebel movements must also strictly observe human rights laws, the UN Human Rights Council’s high-level mission to the region said in its report published today.
12 March 2007 – Increasing fighting in Sri Lanka between Tamil separatists and the Government has forced well over 100,000 civilians to flee their homes in the eastern district of Batticaloa, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and aid agencies working in the country said today, urging both sides to ensure their protection and comply with international human rights law.
9 March 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed the hope that tomorrow’s Baghdad meeting of key players in the Iraqi conflict would help to stabilize the violence-wracked country.
9 March 2007 – The new Government in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was elected last year in landmark elections, must make child protection a “priority” and ensure enough resources are allocated to reintegrate former child soldiers into their communities, the top United Nations envoy on children and armed conflict said today.
9 March 2007 – The 11 countries of Africa’s Great Lakes region, which has been mired in deadly conflict for the past decade, must take control of implementing an historic pact that could pave the way for peace and prosperity, the top United Nations envoy to the region said today.
9 March 2007 – The top United Nations envoy in Cyprus today warmly welcomed as “of great symbolic significance” the removal by Greek Cypriots of a wall at the southern end of Ledra Street in Nicosia, the capital, part of the more than 40-year-old buffer zone dividing the island into northern and southern segments.
9 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received a letter from Sudan’s President replying to his earlier correspondence detailing a proposed United Nations-African Union (AU) hybrid force of up to 24,000 personnel to help resolve the deadly conflict in the Darfur region, which has already killed over 200,000 people and uprooted 2.5 million more.
9 March 2007 – The United Nations Political Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) today made public the conclusions of a tripartite report on the first phase of the world body’s registration of Maoist arms and fighters, as laid down in last year’s peace deal, while the UN envoy to the country said it was “essential” to reach an agreement regarding security for the group’s leaders.
8 March 2007 – The Board of Governors of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency today suspended 22 technical aid projects in Iran in conformity with sanctions imposed by the Security Council over a programme that Tehran says is for producing energy but which critics maintain is for making nuclear weapons.
8 March 2007 – The United Nations envoy for the status of Kosovo has submitted revised plans after reporting that Serbia and the ethnic Albanian-led government remain diametrically opposed over the future of the Albanian-majority Serbian province, which the world body has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting.
8 March 2007 – Impunity for violence against women – for too long tolerated under the cover of cultural practices and silently condoned by Governments – must end, and the United Nations must spearhead the effort to eliminate the pandemic, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this morning at an event commemorating International Women’s Day.
7 March 2007 – The United Nations mission in Kosovo is arranging dozens of outreach meetings focused on the integration of minorities and good governance as the Albanian-majority Serbian province which the world body has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting nears a decision on its final status.
7 March 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written a new letter to Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir detailing a proposed United Nations-African Union (AU) hybrid force of up to 24,000 personnel to help resolve the deadly conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, which has already killed over 200,000 people and uprooted 2.5 million more.
7 March 2007 – Reasserting how crucial women are in preventing and resolving conflicts and in peacebuilding, the United Nations Security Council today called on Member States and the Secretary-General to bolster efforts to empower women and increase their representation in decision-making.
7 March 2007 – Although the challenges ahead are enormous, Somalia may now have the best chance in years to find a long-term solution to the conflicts that have left it without a functioning government since 1991, provided its warring factions engage in dialogue, according to a United Nations report on the country released today.
7 March 2007 – United Nations police officers in Timor-Leste and local colleagues increased their numbers on the streets of Dili, the capital, today in connection with the conviction of former interior minister Rogerio Lobato for arming civilians in the deadly violence that rocked the small South-East Asian country last year.
6 March 2007 – As the Security Council met today in closed session on the situation in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, a senior United Nations envoy told reporters that the parties must cease all fighting and improve conditions for the delivery of relief aid in order to facilitate the political process.
6 March 2007 – As Ghana marks its 50th anniversary today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the West African country, one of the first to attain independence, for serving as an example for freedom movements across the continent and also for its enthusiastic support for the world body.
6 March 2007 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has again called for a “timeout” on the Iranian nuclear issue to allow for talks, with Iran suspending uranium enrichment and the international community suspending sanctions over a programme that Tehran says is for producing energy but which critics maintain is for making nuclear weapons.
5 March 2007 – Welcoming the signing of an agreement between rival leaders in Côte d’Ivoire, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the parties to implement “in full and in good faith” the accord in the West African country that has been divided between the Government-controlled south and the rebel-held north since 2002.
5 March 2007 – Lacking “the necessary level of transparency and cooperation,” the United Nations atomic watchdog agency reiterated yet again today that it could not provide assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme is solely for the peaceful purpose of generating energy and not for producing nuclear bombs.
5 March 2007 – The United Nations envoy in Timor-Leste has said fugitive Timorese Major Alfredo Reinado and his followers, who are accused of involvement in last year’s deadly violence that rocked the tiny nation, bear ultimate responsibility for the weekend military operation launched against them by the International Security Forces (ISF) because they rejected the Government’s terms of surrender.
2 March 2007 – Eritrea recently imposed more restrictions on the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended its border war with Ethiopia in 2000, further reducing the world body’s effectiveness in the area, a UN spokesperson said today.
2 March 2007 – The Security Council expects to adopt a resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme early next week, while the continuing conflict in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, the role of women across the world, and possible visits to Nepal, Lebanon and other global hotspots will dominate the 15-member body’s work throughout March, its new president said today.
2 March 2007 – Serbia and the ethnic Albanian government of Kosovo remain “diametrically opposed” following week-long talks on United Nations proposals for the future status of the Serbian province which the world body has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting, the office of the senior UN envoy on the issue said today.
2 March 2007 – Evoking her own recollections of when Nelson Mandela, or Prisoner 46664, walked out of prison after 27 years, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro paid tribute to the founding president of post-apartheid South Africa at the unveiling of his portrait at UN Headquarters in New York.
2 March 2007 – A senior United Nations official toured south Lebanon today to see first-hand the progress of the world body’s recovery and reconstruction work, which began after the end of last summer’s war between Israel and Hizbollah.
1 March 2007 – United Nations de-miners and their aid agency partners in south Sudan have destroyed thousands of mines and other unexploded ordnance over the past few months, including clearing the customs market in Juba, the UN mission to the country said today, reporting also on more fighting and displacement in the conflict-wracked Darfur region.
1 March 2007 – More than 5,000 additional Timorese have fled to internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps over the past month or so because of the recent violence in the capital Dili, although this is now under control as more United Nations police are patrolling the streets, top UN officials said today.
28 February 2007 – A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced support for the new diplomatic initiative that will bring together Iraq’s neighbours and the five permanent members of the Security Council in a meeting in Baghdad.
28 February 2007 – Iran has continued uranium enrichment despite a Security Council call that it suspend such activities, the United Nations atomic watchdog says in a new report, adding that without greater transparency and spot checks it cannot affirm that Tehran’s nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes to produce energy and not weapons.
28 February 2007 – Painting his grimmest picture yet of the humanitarian and security situation in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire, calling for “dialogue and negotiation” from all sides, while the United Nations mission in the country today reported more abductions, hijackings and tribal fighting throughout the region.
28 February 2007 – A senior United Nations official today discussed with Lebanese officials full implementation of the Security Council resolution that ended last summer’s war between Israel and Hizbollah, following similar talks earlier this week with Israeli authorities.
27 February 2007 – Amid increasing insecurity and violence in eastern Chad, partly driven by killings in the neighbouring Sudanese region of Darfur, the United Nations refugee agency today launched a $6.2 million supplementary appeal to cope with up to 150,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) expected to be made homeless this year.
27 February 2007 – The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor today named a Sudanese minister and a militia commander as the first suspects he wants tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s conflict-wracked Darfur region.
26 February 2007 – Amid violence in the Terai region of southern Nepal, Maoist combatants leaving their cantonment sites and a continuing lack of agreement among the country’s political parties, the United Nations envoy to the Himalayan country today warned that June’s scheduled elections may have to be postponed unless some form of consensus is reached “very soon.”
23 February 2007 – With eastern Chad facing major turmoil sparked by clashes between Government and Sudan-based rebel forces, forays by Sudan-based militia and ethnic violence, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is proposing to send an 11,000-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission to protect civilians and deter cross-border attacks.
23 February 2007 – More than four years after ordering United Nations inspectors out and withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has invited the head of the UN atomic watchdog to visit for talks next month.
23 February 2007 – United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti have arrested 59 suspected gangsters since they launched a crack-down on armed gangs at the beginning of the month in one of the violence-ridden country’s most dangerous areas, the Cité Soleil quarter of Port-au-Prince, the capital.
23 February 2007 – The United Nations Security Council will intensify its efforts to bring together concerned organizations working to keep weapons of mass destruction from falling into terrorist hands, the president of the 15-member body said today following a daylong debate on the issue.
22 February 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was “deeply concerned” that Iran had not met the Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment, stressing that the country’s nuclear programme had great implications for peace, stability and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
22 February 2007 – Following reports of a recent chlorine gas attack as well as the numerous bombings in the Baghdad area which have killed and injured many civilians and others, the United Nations Security Council today roundly condemned all terrorist attacks in Iraq and reminded States of their obligation to prevent them.
22 February 2007 – The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor will next Tuesday name the first suspects accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, a United Nations spokesperson said today.
22 February 2007 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations mission in impoverished Timor-Leste for another year until February 2008, while adding up to 140 extra police officers to help counter the increasing violence as the tiny nation gears up for this year’s elections.
21 February 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported that the human rights situation in the country continues to deteriorate, as the army and police perpetrate acts of violence against civilians and the number of reported rapes surges.
21 February 2007 – The Lebanese Army fired a round of anti-aircraft weapons today and there were a number of Israeli air violations over the United Nations peacekeepers’ area of operation in the southern part of the country, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported.
21 February 2007 – Describing the Iranian nuclear issue as a “very serious concern” to the international community, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Iran’s Government to fully comply with the Security Council and continue to negotiate with the world community.
21 February 2007 – Responding to increasing violence in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili, the United Nations envoy to the impoverished country today urged the population to fully support the security efforts of the UN and local police, as well as those of the International Security Forces (ISF), as they try to bring stability ahead of this year’s landmark elections.
21 February 2007 – Slovakia’s foreign minister today called for the United Nations to sustain its focus on how to help countries consolidate stability, carrying out further work to foster positive change.
20 February 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the world body to draw upon its own resources and experience in reforming the security sector, as the Security Council underscored the crucial role that security plays in successful peacebuilding and development efforts in countries emerging from conflict.
20 February 2007 – Visiting the scene of gang violence in Timor-Leste’s capital today, in which one person was killed and six houses burned down, the United Nations envoy to the impoverished country pledged that international forces working with national police officers will improve security ahead of this year’s landmark elections.
20 February 2007 – The United Nations Security Council today authorized the African Union to establish a mission in Somalia aimed at helping the war-ravaged country, which has not had a functioning government for over a decade and a half, to achieve national reconciliation and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
20 February 2007 – The Security Council today condemned Monday’s “terrorist” attack on the Delhi-Lahore 'Friendship Express,' in which 67 people were killed and nearly 20 injured, reiterating that no cause can justify terrorism and welcoming the commitment of both India and Pakistan to proceed with dialogue.
19 February 2007 – The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) today announced that police and international forces will continue the search for five people who escaped from Becora Prison in Dili, the capital, as law enforcement efforts continue across the small country.
16 February 2007 – A United Nations human rights expert today called on the Government of Myanmar to unconditionally release all top opposition leaders after the authorities extended the house arrest of one of them by another year.
16 February 2007 – The United Nations system has moved swiftly and vigorously to implement the landmark Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted last year by the General Assembly, from improving the international response to a potential attack to finding ways to combat the financing of such crimes to factoring counter-terrorism ideas into conflict prevention planning, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
15 February 2007 – Highlighting that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to pose “a threat to international peace and security in the region,” the Security Council today extended the UN mission in the impoverished African country for another two months.
15 February 2007 – Extending the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) by another eight months, the Security Council today endorsed its recently stepped-up campaign against armed criminal gangs and called for the operations to continue.
15 February 2007 – Condemning yesterday’s terrorist bus attack in Iran which killed at least 18 people, the United Nations Security Council today called for those responsible for the deadly incident to be brought to justice.
14 February 2007 – On the second anniversary of the massive car bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in Beirut, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today that the United Nations remains committed to helping Lebanon “uncover the truth and bring to justice the perpetrators of this despicable act.”
14 February 2007 – The top United Nations official entrusted with preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons today welcomed the agreement reached with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as “a step in the right direction” towards achieving a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
14 February 2007 – A United Nations-backed group of countries involved in the peace process between the Georgian Government and Abkhaz separatists have called on both sides to immediately tackle security issues in north-west Georgia, where they fought a war 13 years ago that forced nearly 300,000 refugees to flee.
13 February 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced outrage at this morning’s terrorist bombing of two commuter buses in Beirut, calling for an end to impunity in Lebanon and urging the country’s people to maintain national unity despite the recent series of assassinations and terrorist attacks.
13 February 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Darfur and his African Union (AU) counterpart have held talks with senior Sudanese Government officials and a prominent former rebel at the start of their joint five-day mission to try to re-energize the stalled peace process in the war-torn region.
13 February 2007 – A convergence of positive factors, including a new Palestinian unity Government and the first political talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in six years, have the potential to help restore calm and re-energize efforts to achieve a two-State solution, but many immediate and longer-term challenges need to be overcome, a senior United Nations official reported today.
13 February 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly welcomed the nuclear agreement reached at six-party talks in Beijing, describing it as the first step towards a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula and urging all sides to “sustain the current positive momentum” and ensure the accord is implemented.
13 February 2007 – A day after briefing the Security Council on the need for continued international support for Timor-Leste, the United Nations envoy to the country today said he was cautiously optimistic about its future ahead of this year’s landmark elections, but he also highlighted the deadly violence in 2006 as a warning against any early withdrawal of UN assistance.
12 February 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo announced today that autopsied are being performed on the bodies of two protesters who died after a violent demonstration in the province’s capital, Pristina, at the weekend.
12 February 2007 – The United Nations envoy in Nepal today warmly welcomed planned talks between the Government, the country’s indigenous peoples and the southern Nepalese who live in the dispute-wracked Terai region, but he also expressed deep concern at reports of recent attacks against political parties in the west of the country.
12 February 2007 – Highlighting the “fragile” security situation in Timor-Leste, the top United Nations envoy to the impoverished nation today reiterated Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for more international police during this year’s elections, the first to be held there since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
12 February 2007 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today called for the unconditional release of three journalists arrested in Somalia and voiced “deep concern” at the temporary closing of radio and television stations, stressing the vital importance of free media in bringing peace to the war-torn country.
12 February 2007 – The new commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon held his first meeting today with senior Lebanese and Israeli military officers focussing on steps to prevent a recurrence of last week’s exchange of fire between Lebanese and Israeli forces across the Blue Line separating the two countries.
9 February 2007 – A new and particularly brutal round of attacks on villages in the north of the Central African Republic (CAR) has driven hundreds of people into neighbouring Chad over the past month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today.
9 February 2007 – The people of Côte d’Ivoire now have “an historic chance” of ending the long stalemate in its peace process, the outgoing United Nations envoy to the divided country said today.
8 February 2007 – As part of United Nations efforts to reform the 15-member Security Council, General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa today appointed five ambassadors, representing different regions, to move the process forward.
8 February 2007 – Expressing deep concern after Lebanon’s armed forces and Israeli troops exchanged fire across the Blue Line that separates the two countries, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for maximum restraint, warning that such actions violate last year’s Security Council resolution that ended the month of fighting in the region.
8 February 2007 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is stepping up its investigation of the situation in the country’s far west, where violent clashes last week led to the deaths of more than 130 people.
8 February 2007 – Armed men assaulted and attempted to abduct a group of female internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been on their way to collect firewood in Darfur, the latest violent incident to plague the war-torn region, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported today.
8 February 2007 – The United Nations envoy for the future status of Kosovo said today that any suggestion implying that the provisional plan he presented last week meant independence for the Albanian-majority Serbian province, which the UN has run since 1999, came from the parties, and he hoped to make his own view “very clear” by the end of March.
7 February 2007 – Welcoming yesterday’s formation of the Government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today urged it to work immediately with the opposition to resolve the unrest in the far west of the country that led to the deaths of dozens of people last week.
7 February 2007 – The only way for the status of women in the Arab world to improve is for the governments there to invest in “quality education,” the United Nations General Assembly President said today, pointing out that simply passing laws on gender equality is not enough because deeply ingrained attitudes have to change.
6 February 2007 – United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon today voiced sadness at the death of Angela E.V. King, the Jamaican who served as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and paid tribute to her legacy in fervently championing the equality of women and men.
6 February 2007 – The United Nations today signed an agreement with Lebanon setting up a Special Tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his hopes that the Government will ratify it in line with the country’s “constitutional requirements.”
6 February 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council that he intends to appoint Ian Martin of the United Kingdom as his Special Representative and Head of the UN Political Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), his spokesperson announced today.
6 February 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Darfur and his African Union (AU) counterpart will conduct a joint mission to Sudan next week as part of their efforts to revive the stalled peace process in the war-torn region.
5 February 2007 – United Nations Member States agree that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deserves their backing for his plans to restructure the Organization’s peacekeeping and disarmament operations so that he can focus on tackling pressing international crises and global challenges, an official from the League of Arab States said today.
5 February 2007 – While the overall situation in Timor-Leste has improved over the past six months, the security situation remains volatile and the political climate is constantly changing, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, recommending that the United Nations mission in the impoverished nation be extended for another year.
2 February 2007 – Africa, particularly the crises in Somalia and Sudan’s strife-torn region of Darfur, will again dominate the Security Council’s work programme for February, although other world hotspots will also be addressed, along with thematic debates on the issue of security sector reform and weapons of mass destruction, the President of the 15-member body said today.
2 February 2007 – The Albanian-majority Serbian province of Kosovo will have the right to govern itself and conclude international agreements, including membership in international bodies, with an international civilian and military presence supervising the new arrangements and helping to ensure peace and stability, under United Nations plans released today.
2 February 2007 – Italian Major General Claudio Graziano today took over command of the enhanced 12,000-member-strong United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon overseeing the cessation of hostilities agreement that ended last summer’s 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah.
2 February 2007 – Renewing its support for the planned deployment of African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Somalia, the Security Council today called for the rapid dispatch of a United Nations technical mission to assess security needs in the war-wracked country.
1 February 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited the United Nations war crimes court for the Balkans wars in The Hague, Netherlands, and called for action by Security Council members to help bring the two principal Bosnian Serb fugitives, Radovan Karadžic and Ratko Mladic, to trial.
1 February 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Kosovo’s future status process Martti Ahtisaari will officially present his proposal on the Serbian province’s final status to the Serbian Government and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian-led provisional authorities tomorrow.
1 February 2007 – Painting a generally grim picture of the two years since the signing of Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended 21 years of civil war between the north and the south, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says resolving the conflict in Darfur could go a long way towards restoring trust in the deal.
31 January 2007 – The countries overseeing the structure and management of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are making “very good progress” towards agreement on a definition of the crime of aggression, the head of a key working group told a press conference at United Nations Headquarters today.
31 January 2007 – The top United Nations peacebuilding official today said that fresh initiatives, bolstered by millions of dollars in resources and drawing upon the capacities and experiences of numerous agencies of the world body, are poised to aid post-conflict countries in consolidating stability and avoiding a relapse into violence.
30 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all Palestinian parties to quickly resume dialogue for national unity after the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza to end a civil conflict that has seen more than 40 people killed in Palestinian-on-Palestinian violence over the past month.
30 January 2007 – The Security Council today extended the mandate by six months of the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000, but cut the number of blue helmets as it voiced frustration with the lack of progress made by either country.
30 January 2007 – The first of 350 Nepalese soldiers, all of whom are expected to be deployed by early March, began arriving in Haiti this week to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MINUSTAH.
29 January 2007 – The enhanced United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, sent to monitor the end of hostilities after last year’s conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, now numbers over 12,000, the mission said today, while reporting that two of its de-miners were injured trying to rid the country of the massive number of cluster bombs left over from the fighting.
29 January 2007 – Haiti has made solid progress in rebuilding its economy and restoring the rule of law but serious obstacles remain in the country, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping operation there said today.
29 January 2007 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency is calling for a “timeout” on the Iranian nuclear issue, with Iran suspending uranium enrichment and the international community suspending sanctions over a programme that Tehran says is for producing energy but which others maintain is for making nuclear weapons.
29 January 2007 – The top United Nations official dealing with children and armed conflict today welcomed a ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to try Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo for war crimes involving recruiting children as soldiers, in what would be the Hague-based court’s first trial.
28 January 2007 – Responding to violence in Nepal, which has been the scene of deadly clashes in recent days, the senior United Nations envoy to the country has urged all parties to promote tolerance.
26 January 2007 – The United Nations General Assembly today condemned without reservation any denial of the Holocaust, with only Iran publicly disassociating itself from the consensus resolution which was immediately hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
25 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a major international donors’ conference on Lebanon today that the global community must support the war-shattered country’s efforts for economic and political reconstruction, with its neighbours staying out of its affairs.
25 January 2007 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aiming to address concerns over the paying of hard currency and other practices in its operations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), today officially proposed to its Executive Board an external audit and modification of future operations in the country.
25 January 2007 – Warning the Security Council that the world cannot afford another year like 2006 in the Middle East and Lebanon, the top United Nations political officer today called for a “resumed political process” between Israel and the Palestinians, adding that solutions are also urgently needed in Lebanon, where more clashes occurred in the capital Beirut.
24 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today began his first overseas trip since becoming the world’s top diplomat, meeting in Brussels with European Union (EU) leaders on global issues ranging from the Balkans and the crises in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, Somalia and Côte d’Ivoire, to climate change and human rights.
24 January 2007 – The United Nations mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000 should be extended for another six months as the stalemate in the peace process shows no sign of ending, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the mission’s operations.
24 January 2007 – The Security Council today expressed unease at the continuing tension between Abkhaz separatists and Georgian authorities but said there were also some positive developments in recent months, namely the resumption of joint United Nations patrols in the Kodori Valley in December after a break of three years.
23 January 2007 – The Security Council today established a United Nations political mission in Nepal to oversee the peace process in the tiny Himalayan country, following an historic agreement reached last November by the Maoists and Government aimed at ending 10 years of bloody civil war that killed around 15,000 people and displaced over 100,000 others.
23 January 2007 – A United Nations proposal for the future status of the Albanian-majority Serbian province of Kosovo, which the world body has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid brutal ethnic fighting, will be presented to a group of concerned countries on Friday and to the parties early next month.
23 January 2007 – The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is discussing with officials from Iran the country’s request for withdrawing some of its inspectors, but it still has a sufficient number to continue its efforts seeking to determine whether Tehran’s nuclear programme is solely for the peaceful purpose of producing energy and not for making weapons.
22 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon moved quickly today on his promise of an external, system-wide probe of United Nations activities in the field, announcing that it would target as a first priority countries where hard currency transactions, independence of staff hiring and access to review local projects are an issue, beginning with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
19 January 2007 – Starting an official visit to Nepal today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said she would press for rights protections, an end to impunity, and attention to long-standing discrimination during her meetings with leaders of the Himalayan country, which is carrying out a landmark peace deal.
19 January 2007 – Welcoming the recent discussions between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and United States negotiators in Berlin over the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all sides involved in the six-party process discussing the issue to redouble their efforts.
19 January 2007 – The top United Nations envoy for Somalia went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today for a meeting of the African Union (AU) that is expected to discuss plans for the speedy deployment of a protection force and training mission to back the transitional Government there after it ousted Islamist groups with Ethiopian help.
19 January 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is in the capital of Burkina Faso today to participate in a one-day summit called to find ways to revive the stalled peace process in divided Côte d’Ivoire.
19 January 2007 – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today said that it would stop paying hard currency for its operations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) amid press reports on the agency’s activities there and announced plans to seek an independent, external audit, while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an urgent, system wide investigation of UN activities in the field.
18 January 2007 – United Nations monitors have made “significant progress” in overseeing Nepal’s landmark peace deal, which was concluded between the Government and Maoist fighters last year, the top UN envoy to the Himalayan country said today, highlighting in particular the registration of Maoist arms and combatants.
18 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named two generals with United Nations peacekeeping experience as the new Force Commanders for the world body’s operations in the Golan Heights and Lebanon.
17 January 2007 – The United Nations has begun registering and storing weapons of Maoist former combatants in Nepal, marking a new phase in the peace process following last year’s comprehensive agreement ending the long-running civil war in the Himalayan country.
16 January 2007 – Children in Nepal were still being recruited by the Communist Party (Maoist) to serve as soldiers despite last April’s ceasefire with the Government, the Secretary-General has warned in his latest report to the Security Council, calling on the Maoists to immediately end the practice and on both sides to do more to protect children’s rights.
16 January 2007 – The Security Council today asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to submit his recommendations by the middle of next month on the possibility and scope of a formal United Nations presence in eastern Chad and the northeast of the Central African Republic (CAR) – where UN humanitarian officials are alarmed about the impact of increasingly frequent rebel attacks.
16 January 2007 – Sri Lankan children are being abducted to fight as soldiers in the bloody island conflict by separatist Tamil Tiger rebels and a breakaway group known as the Karuna faction, the Secretary-General has warned in his latest report to the Security Council, calling for an immediate end to the practice and recommending “targeted measures” in response.
15 January 2007 – Warning that recent deadly violence between Abkhaz separatists and Georgian authorities could escalate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all sides to “engage in dialogue” to bring peace to a region where fighting forced nearly 300,000 refugees to flee their homes 14 years ago.
15 January 2007 – A United Nations assessment mission will head to the Central African Republic (CAR) within the next fortnight to consider whether blue helmets should be sent to stabilize the troubled country and its neighbour Chad in the wake of recent clashes between rebels and Government forces in both countries.
12 January 2007 – China and Russia today vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council – the first use of multiple vetoes at the Council since 1989 – that had called on Myanmar to release all political prisoners, begin widespread dialogue and end its military attacks and human rights abuses against ethnic minorities.
11 January 2007 – The Chairman of a United Nations committee monitoring sanctions imposed on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) after it claimed to have conducted a nuclear test, today called on all States to report on steps being taken to apply the measures against the country as well as on individuals supporting its military programme.
11 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that while he understood the “necessity” behind the recent United States military operations in Somalia, aimed at suspected Al-Qaida targets, diplomatic efforts must be redoubled to bring peace to the war-ravaged country that has not had a functioning government since 1991.
11 January 2007 – The Security Council today backed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for the speedy deployment of a United Nations political mission in Nepal to monitor the cantonment of weapons and help organize elections for a constituent assembly after the recent peace accord between the Government and Maoist rebels that ended a deadly decade-long war.
10 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a small new United Nations political mission in Nepal, comprising unarmed military inspectors, electoral experts, and police and civil administration teams, to monitor the recent peace accord between the Government and Maoist rebels that ended a deadly decade-long war.
10 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Darfur met the Sudanese Foreign Minister, a key former rebel and other senior figures today as he continues his mission to promote United Nations efforts to find a permanent solution to the conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million others.
10 January 2007 – Voicing concern at the instability and violence across strife-torn Somalia, the Security Council today called for greater humanitarian assistance and more inclusive political dialogue and reiterated its backing for the creation of an African protection and training mission to the volatile nation.
10 January 2007 – The Security Council today extended through June the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and French forces supporting it while authorizing them to cooperate with blue helmets in Liberia in preventing arms from crossing the border.
9 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today named Major General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as the new Force Commander of the peacekeeping UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
9 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the United States air strikes on Somalia, particularly their humanitarian impact, his spokesperson said today, adding that the world body is seeking more information on the attacks while also assessing the possibility of renewing emergency assistance to the strife-torn country and the thousands who need help at the border with Kenya.
9 January 2007 – While stressing the importance of last year’s historic elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the first held there in more than 40 years, two top United Nations officials today told the Security Council that continued international involvement is crucial to stability not only in the massive country but for the whole region.
8 January 2007 – Security in the Central African Republic (CAR) has deteriorated over the past two months, especially in the north and along the borders with Chad and the Sudan, according to the latest United Nations report on the impoverished country where humanitarian agencies are struggling to reach up to 1 million people affected by violence.
8 January 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Darfur has embarked upon a mission to the war-torn Darfur region to push ahead with efforts to find a permanent solution to the conflict which has killed more than 200,000 people since 2003.
8 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the Government and political leaders of Guinea-Bissau to exercise utmost restraint and focus on development and reconciliation amid heightened tensions following the killing of the small West African country’s former Navy Chief.
8 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today told the Security Council that stepping up efforts to resolve the Darfur crisis is one of his top priorities, warning of an ever worsening humanitarian crisis in this strife-torn part of Sudan, as he also highlighted the Middle East and UN peacekeeping worldwide as other key challenges.
8 January 2007 – Condemning the latest attacks on civilians in strife-torn Sri Lanka, which left more than 20 dead and dozens maimed, the United Nations office on the island today called for their immediate protection and warned of worsening conditions in the east, where thousands of people remain trapped by the fighting between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
8 January 2007 – A senior United Nations official in Afghanistan today called on the Afghan and Pakistani governments to end their mutual recriminations and cooperate in fighting the Taliban insurgency in the south of the war-torn country, saying it is being fuelled from both sides of the border and urging greater action against the rebellion in Pakistan itself.
8 January 2007 – The United Nations envoy for Somalia today attended the Peace and Security Commission meeting in Addis Ababa of the African Union (AU), which is discussing responses to the situation in the troubled Horn of Africa country.
5 January 2007 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Darfur heads to Sudan and neighbouring Ethiopia tonight for almost a week of talks and meetings with officials from the Sudanese Government, the African Union (AU) and other groups to discuss how to find a lasting solution to the conflict that has left at least 200,000 people dead and displaced more than 2 million others.
5 January 2007 – Meeting today for the first time since last week’s heavy fighting in Somalia, which may have given the Transitional Government of the long-troubled country the chance to establish its full authority, the International Contact Group for Somalia – which includes the United Nations – called the current moment “a historic opportunity.”
5 January 2007 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for the reinstatement of Fiji’s “legitimate authority,” following the announcement that the leader of last December’s coup d’état has become Prime Minister of the country.
5 January 2007 – The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the country’s national police have arrested a gang member wanted in connection with the killing last November of two blue helmets serving with the peacekeeping operation.
4 January 2007 – Urging parties in Somalia and the international community to “seize the moment to end the bloodshed,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed indications that some African countries can deploy peacekeepers there while calling on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to reach out to other groups, and on all neighbouring States to respect Somali sovereignty.
3 January 2007 – The situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as instability in the Middle East and general threats to international peace will dominate the Security Council’s work in January, the 15-member body agreed today after holding its first consultations of 2007.
2 January 2007 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the people of Burundi on the successful completion of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the country, as he pledged the world body’s continuing commitment to help the impoverished nation shake off the ravages of civil war and political instability.
