Europe

Head of UN mission strongly condemns shooting of Kosovo Serb teens

13 August 2003
The head of the United Nations mission in Kosovo today strongly condemned the killing of two teenagers and injury of four others by unknown suspects who opened fire on a group of Serb youngsters swimming in a river in the Pec region.

UN mission to launch new weapons amnesty in Kosovo

12 August 2003
The United Nations mission in Kosovo is set to launch a month-long weapons amnesty in September, its third such effort to take out of circulation “the huge quantity of unauthorized weapons” left in the wake of the fighting between ethnic Albanians and Serbs.

UN appeals for release of aid worker abducted in Dagestan, Russian Federation

12 August 2003
Marking the anniversary of the abduction in Dagestan, Russian Federation, of an international aid worker, the United Nations today reiterated its appeal for his immediate and safe release, stressing that such kidnappings hamper humanitarian efforts in the North Caucasus.

Roma agree to remain in former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - UN agency

12 August 2003
Hundreds of Kosovo Roma who had been camping near the border between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece for nearly three months have now agreed to remain in the Republic, following negotiations including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Council President Amb. Wehbe

Security Council condemns recent killing of UN police officer in Kosovo

8 August 2003
Security Council members today condemned the recent killing of a United Nations police officer in Kosovo, underscoring their support for the work of the UN mission there and appealing for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

UN supports Bulgaria in bringing Roma and other minorities into mainstream

6 August 2003
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting a Bulgarian initiative to improve living conditions and expand job opportunities for 46,000 Roma and 5,000 ethnic Turks living in run-down neighbourhoods in six municipalities.

Kosovo: UN mission offers reward for information on murdered police officer

5 August 2003
The United Nations mission in Kosovo today offered a reward of 50,000 Euros for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of the murder of a UN police officer over the weekend, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all sides to cooperate in the investigation into this "appalling act."
UN police on patrol in Kosovo

Kosovo: officer killed in first fatal attack on UN police force

4 August 2003
The United Nations police force in Kosovo suffered its first fatal attack last night when an officer was shot and killed in a sniper ambush while driving towards the former flashpoint town of Mitrovica in what the top UN envoy in the area called a “despicable” and “repugnant” act of murder.

Acting UN rights chief condemns suicide bombing of Russian military hospital

4 August 2003
Condemning last Friday’s suicide bombing of a Russian military hospital, the Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bertrand Ramcharan, today called for public opinion to rally against suicide bombings and for the strengthening of international resolve to combat terrorism and bring terrorists to justice.

UN tribunal sentences Bosnian Serb to life imprisonment

31 July 2003
The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today convicted a Bosnian Serb doctor of extermination and persecution of Bosnian Muslims, but acquitted him of genocide, and sentenced him to life in prison.