Secretary-General welcomes release of civilian hostages in Iraq

The following statement was issued today by the spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the news of the release of the Iraqi, Egyptian and Italian civilian hostages today in Iraq.

He once again calls for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages in Iraq.  He strongly condemns all hostage-taking, which no cause can justify and appeals to all parties to adhere strictly to the fundamental precepts of human rights and respect for human life.

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