BRIEFING ON SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REPORT ON PROTECTION OF

CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICT

The fact that civilians accounted for up to 75 per cent of war victims these days had made their protection a very important part of the discussion on international peace and security, Carolyn McAskie, Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, told a Headquarters press briefing today.

PRESS BRIEFING BY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

In almost every country reviewed there had been improvement, as a result of the efforts made by the Human Rights Committee, Pratfullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati of India, Chairman of the Committee, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS BRIEFING BY POPULATION DIVISION

According to trends, by mid-century 90 per cent of the world's population would be living in the developing region, Joseph Chamie, Director, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this morning.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan had not gone back on its commitments regarding humanitarian assistance to Afghan refugees, and criticisms about the situation should be directed at those who imposed sanctions against Afghanistan under Security Council resolution 1333 of December 2000, Shamshad Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY ESCAP

The economic performance of the Asia Pacific region strengthened further in 2000 following an impressive recovery after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, according to a United Nations economic survey launched at a Headquarters press conference this morning.

PRESS CONFERENCE BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

“My intention is to make the Council’s business progressively more transparent”, the Security Council President for the month of April told correspondents this afternoon at a Headquarters press conference.

PRESS BRIEFING ON UN FINANCIAL SITUATION BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL CONNOR

The much-anticipated reduction in the level of debt to Member States might finally be achieved -- a major financial event for both Member States and the Organization, Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph E. Connor told correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE ON SMALL ARMS

The United States was refusing to acknowledge the role of small arms in fuelling violence around the world, Michael Beard, President of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, USA, told correspondents at Headquarters this afternoon.

PRESS CONFERENCE ON SMALL ARMS BY CO-PRESIDENT

OF EMINENT PERSONS GROUP ON SMALL ARMS

Despite the setbacks of the last two sessions of the Preparatory Committee on Small Arms, the current session would end with a good politically binding document which would provide Members States with a framework for dealing with

the problem of small arms, Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France and

PRESS CONFERENCE ON SMALL ARMS

It was not enough for the upcoming United Nations Conference on Small Arms and its Preparatory Committee to limit discussion purely to illegal arms transfers, Lloyd Axworthy, Co-Chair of the Global Coalition of non-governmental organizations and Like-minded States on Small Arms told correspondents this morning.