Annan cuts short European trip over developments in Iraq and DR of Congo

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan cut short his trip to Europe today to return to UN Headquarters in New York in light of current developments in Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and elsewhere.

Mr. Annan, who was to have attended the spring session in Paris of the Chief Executives Board, which brings together the heads of all UN departments, agencies and programmes, and then go to Switzerland on Sunday for an official visit, was flying back to New York after addressing the Human Rights Commission in Geneva and conferring with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello.

The Secretary-General, who flew to Greece last week to discuss with European leaders the UN role in post-war Iraq, has emphasized the urgency of adapting to the new situation there at every stop during his European tour, including the need to extend and streamline the UN Food-for-Oil programme, on which 60 per cent of the Iraqi people depend as their only source of sustenance.

He also mentioned the serious situation in DRC in his address to the Human Rights Commission today, referring specifically to the Ituri region “where hundreds of people have been butchered in cold blood within the last few weeks.”

In his absence, Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will chair the Paris meeting, which will address the follow-up to the Millennium Summit, and strategies for sustainable development. It will review the follow-up to the outcome of last year’s World Summit on Sustainable Development, with a particular focus on energy and water issues.

Other issues under consideration will include UN support for Africa’s development, the linkages between AIDS and food security and the erosion of critical institutional capacities in AIDS-affected countries.