Europe

Martti Ahtisaari briefs the press in Kosovo

Kosovo: UN envoy on final status talks calls for more progress on key goals

28 November 2005
The United Nations special envoy for the future status talks on Kosovo today called for greater progress in meeting key goals that include building democratic institutions and enforcing minority rights in the ethnically divided Serbian province which the world body has administered since 1999.

Kosovo: Annan's envoy on final status talks meets with Serbia's leaders

25 November 2005
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy on the final status of Kosovo has met with Serbia's leaders to discuss the future of the Serbian province, which the United Nations has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between majority Albanians and Serbs in 1999.

Slovenia: UN refugee agency 'concerned' over new asylum laws

25 November 2005
The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern today that police in Slovenia will be entitled to decide whether or not a person is qualified to seek asylum in that country under new laws proposed yesterday because the legislation would create a vague new category of unprotected persons.

UN refugee agency calls on Mediterranean countries to recognize refugee rights

25 November 2005
The United Nations refugee agency is calling on the leaders of 35 European and Southern Mediterranean (EuroMed) countries, meeting this weekend in Barcelona, Spain, to strengthen their commitment to the principles of refugee protection as they discuss cooperation on population movements across the Mediterranean Sea.
Martti Ahtisaari briefs the press in Kosovo

Kosovo: Annan's envoy on final status for UN-run province meets with Serbs

23 November 2005
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy leading the process to decide the future status of Kosovo today met with Serb political leaders in the Serbian province, which the UN has run since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between majority Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
Martti Ahtisaari

Kosovo: Annan's envoy arrives to start final status process for UN-run province

22 November 2005
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy today began the process of deciding the future status of Kosovo as the United Nations administrator of the Serbian province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1, voiced caution over possible provocations from "crazies" on all sides.

Security Council authorizes EU force in Bosnia and Herzegovina for another year

21 November 2005
The United Nations Security Council today extended the mission of the European Union's stabilization force (EUFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the next 12 months to ensure continued compliance with the 1995 Dayton/Paris Agreement that ended a fierce war and to continue to contribute to a secure environment in the country.

Secretary-General, on first visit to Georgia, meets senior officials

19 November 2005
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi today, where he held talks with the president and reiterated his call for an end to the conflict between the Government and Abkhaz separatists.

UNESCO showcases breadth of activities at 60th anniversary

17 November 2005
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrated its 60th anniversary last night in Paris in the company of former directors, political leaders and luminaries such as anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, all stressing the vast range and importance of the agency’s work.

UN expert fighting sex trafficking calls for coordinated child protection in Greece

15 November 2005
Even though the number of registered cases of child sexual exploitation and trafficking in Greece is small and measures have been taken to counteract these crimes, a United Nations human rights expert said today that the country still needs a comprehensive approach to child protection due to new regional conditions.