Africa

WITH RETURN OF PEACE, TIME HAD COMEFORMANORIVER UNION COUNTRIES

TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS CONAKRY SUMMIT

Following is Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to the Summit of Heads of State of the Mano River Union, delivered today in Conakry, Guinea, by Daudi Ngelautwa Mwakawago, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sierra Leone and Chief of Mission:

secretary-general deeply concerned by disturbing turn of events in côte d’ivoire

Following is the text of a statement attributable to the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

HUMANITARIAN PARTNERS RACE TO DELIVER AID TO DARFUR AS RAINY SEASON APPROACHES

NEW YORK, 19 May (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) –- As the June rainy season approaches in Darfur, United Nations humanitarian agencies and their non-governmental organization (NGO) partners are racing to bring aid to people in need.

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Sixth Summit of leaders and heads of State of the Community of Sahelo-Saharan States (CENSAD), held in Bamako, Mali, from 15 to 16 May, which was read by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa:

AFRICA NEEDS TO REMOVE OBSTACLES TO TRADE, SAYS AMOAKO

(Reissued as received.)

KAMPALA, 18 May (ECA) –- African countries must do more to maximize the benefits of trade for development, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), K.Y. Amoako, said today.

UNITED NATIONS CONFIRMS 39 DEAD IN ATTACK ON CAMP NEAR GULU, UGANDA

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 18 May (OCHA) –- Thirty-nine people have been confirmed dead and 17 injured after an attack by the rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army on the Pagak camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Uganda.

SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES JOINS NETWORK

OF UN CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAMME

(Reissued as received.)

PRESS STATEMENT ON CÔTE D‘IVOIRE BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Following is today’s press statement on Côte d’Ivoire by Security Council President Munir Akram (Pakistan):

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISMAYED AT PUBLIC ATTACKS AGAINST UN MISSION BY ERITREA

Following is the text of a statement attributable to the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

BURUNDI:  NUMBER OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS IN CAMPS HALVED

NEW YORK, 14 May (OCHA) –- There are as half as many people in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burundi as there were two years ago, according to a new survey led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  The results of the survey show that the number of the displaced dropped from 281,000 in 2002 to some 140,000 today.