Kofi Annan

SG: Good morning.

On my way in, someone was asking me about Sudan, the meeting in [Abuja] tomorrow. I expect the meeting to discuss the outcome of the discussions in Addis Ababa, and to press ahead with the conclusions that we reached in Addis. I am still expecting a formal response from the Sudanese authorities. I have now been told I will get it tomorrow morning, and then we will take it from there. And of course it should also be available for the meeting in Abuja tomorrow.

The Secretary-General has been following with concern developments in Bangladesh ahead of the January 2007 elections. He wishes to underscore the importance of a peaceful and transparent environment so that these important elections can enjoy the full confidence of the people of Bangladesh. To offer continued UN support to the process, a senior United Nations official will be visiting Bangladesh between 29 November and 1 December on behalf of the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General welcomes the reported agreement between President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to establish a mutual ceasefire in Gaza. He is, however, deeply concerned that Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets against civilian targets inside Israel. Such attacks underscore the destructive power that militants have to derail the crucial efforts underway to de-escalate tensions.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When I took office a decade ago, the development debate tended to be distinguished more by disagreements and dithering than actual doing.

Today, that landscape is distinctly different. Thanks in large part to the vision and political will that emerged from recent United Nations summits ¨C the Millennium Summit in 2000, Monterrey and Johannesburg in 2002, and the World Summit last year ¨C discussions on delivery have supplanted long-standing disagreements over doctrine.

Q: Congo and the UN forces there, what's happening and how difficult a situation is it?

SG: We are being vigilant and working with the Government and the national troops, to maintain law and order. My Special Representative is in constant touch with both leaders and the inauguration of the new President will take place early next month. And I have had the opportunity of speaking to both the President and the opposition leader,

The Secretary-General is concerned at reports of increasing rebel military activities in the province of Ouaddai and that they are advancing in the direction of N'djamena. The Secretary-General reiterates his condemnation of any attempt to seize power by force. He urges the Chadian protagonists to engage in dialogue, end armed violence in the country and foster national reconciliation.

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The Secretary-General is greatly dismayed by the recent wave of terrorist attacks in Iraq, particularly in Sadr-City, Baghdad and Tal-Afar, which have reportedly caused the death and injury of hundreds of innocent civilians, and led to a number of reprisal attacks. He condemns these heinous acts in the strongest possible terms. They cannot be justified by any cause and are clearly aimed at fomenting sectarian strife and further undermining the stability and national unity of Iraq.

I send my warm greetings to all the participants in this Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The International Criminal Court has come far in a short time. At the Rome Diplomatic Conference in 1998, few could have expected that by 2006, a fully operational entity would have initiated its first trials, an Office of the Prosecutor would be prosecuting or investigating multiple situations, there would be a Security Council referral, and the Court would have issued its first warrants of arrest.