Africa

Kofi Annan

Liberia: Annan to close old UN office in preparation for new mission

18 September 2003
In light of the impending establishment of a new United Nations mission in Liberia, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to close an office that was set up in the war-torn West African country six years ago but whose efforts to bring peace, reconciliation and respect for human rights were hamstrung by renewed fighting.

UN agencies step-up operations to address food shortages in Zimbabwe

18 September 2003
United Nations agencies and other humanitarian organizations are stepping up operations to address food shortages and their underlying causes in Zimbabwe as whole communities have exhausted stocks long before the next harvest, according to the latest update released today.

Liberia: UN sends food to tens of thousands for first time in months

17 September 2003
The United Nations has sent food to tens of thousands of people in the rebel-held Liberian city of Buchanan for the first time since heavy fighting erupted between the government and rebels earlier this year, but hundreds of thousands more in the West African country have received no humanitarian aid for months.
Jacques Paul Klein

Top UN envoy 'delighted' at Nigerian warning to Liberian ex-president

17 September 2003
The top United Nations envoy to Liberia said today he was "delighted" at a Nigerian announcement that it was clamping down on the ability of exiled former President Charles Taylor of Liberia to interfere in the affairs of his homeland, where the UN is trying to restore peace and democracy after 14 years of conflict.

Former junta commander transferred into custody of Sierra Leone court

17 September 2003
An alleged former junta commander was transferred today into the custody of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to await trial on 17 counts of war-crime charges.

Sudan: government and rebel group agree to allow aid access to 500,000 - UN

17 September 2003
The Sudanese Government and a rebel group in the country today signed an agreement to allow "free and unimpeded" humanitarian access to the Darfur region, raising hope among United Nations agencies of reaching 500,000 previously cut-off people in dire need of aid.
Jacques Paul Klein briefs Security Council

Top UN envoy calls for sufficient personnel and funds needed to resurrect Liberia

16 September 2003
Seeking 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers and 900 police to bring war-shattered Liberia back from “hellish limbo,” the top UN envoy for the West African country appealed to the international committee today to commit the resources and personnel needed to end the “cycle of brutality, violence, corruption and instability.”

Annan recommends 6-month extension of UN mission in Sierra Leone

16 September 2003
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the mandate of the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone be extended a further six months, given the need to continue the gradual drawdown of the UN peacekeeping force without jeopardizing the security situation, which has "remained generally stable."

UN helicopter in DR of Congo fires at militias in self-defence

16 September 2003
A United Nations helicopter on aerial patrol in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) shot in self-defence at a truck carrying armed militias to Bunia, hitting two of them, the UN mission in the country said today.

UN office in Central African Republic gets 1-year extension

16 September 2003
The Security Council has accepted a one-year extension of the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA), which Secretary-General Kofi Annan had recommended to enable the Office to help shepherd the country through elections next year.