Europe

New European Constitution should offer chance to boost cooperation with UN – Annan

30 October 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed the signing of a new Treaty on Europe's Constitution, voicing hope that the document will offer new opportunities to strengthen cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union (EU).

UN official says Kosovo's police key to preserving democracy and human rights

30 October 2004
A senior United Nations official today told the latest graduating class of Kosovo's multiethnic police force that they were responsible for advancing the goals of peace and democracy.

Outgoing Deputy UN Kosovo chief says recent gains need global support to hold

29 October 2004
On the eve of his retirement after three years of serving as the deputy head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Charles Brayshaw says nascent democratic institutions in the province will need continued international support to flourish.
UNESCO head Koïchiro Matsuura

UNESCO and Italy sign pact to handle heritage emergencies

29 October 2004
The United Nations cultural agency today signed its first agreement with a Member State to have a ready response team to handle emergencies that might result in damage to any of the world's heritage sites.

Miloševic lawyers ask to be removed from his trial at UN war crimes tribunal

28 October 2004
The lawyers appointed by a United Nations war crimes tribunal to represent former Yugoslav President Slobodan Miloševic against genocide charges have asked to withdraw from the case because the defendant is uncooperative.
The German container ship Lydia Oldendorff

UN refugee agency hails Italy’s decision to allow stranded asylum-seekers to land

27 October 2004
The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the Italian Government’s decision to allow 13 Turkish asylum-seekers – who had been stranded for almost two weeks aboard a commercial freighter in the Mediterranean Sea – to land in Sicily.
Amb. Thomson briefs reporters

Security Council stresses need for lasting solution to Georgian-Abkhaz conflict

27 October 2004
Though peace talks on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict are at a virtual standstill, the search must continue for a permanent solution, the United Nations Security Council said today.
UNMIK chief Søren Jessen-Petersen

Improving ethnic relations in Kosovo must be post-election priority - UN envoy

25 October 2004
On the heels of this weekend's assembly elections in Kosovo, the senior United Nations envoy there called for the swift formation of a new government once the polling results are finalized.
Kofi Annan

Annan and UN envoy hail success of weekend elections for Kosovo Assembly

24 October 2004
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his senior envoy to Kosovo have hailed elections for the province's assembly, saying the high and peaceful voter turnout Saturday showed the public wanted to participate despite pressure from some quarters to stay home.

Environmental issues could worsen conflicts in southern Caucasus – UN report

22 October 2004
Environmental degradation and competition for natural resources could sharpen disputes in areas of the southern Caucasus already mired in conflicts, warns a United Nations report released today in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi.