Press Release

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN DARFUR, SUDAN, SAID TO BE AMONG WORST IN WORLD

SECRETARY-GENERAL’S ENVOY DISCUSSES HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

NEW YORK, 8 December (OCHA) -- Ms. Carolyn McAskie, the Secretary-General’s Humanitarian Envoy for the Crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, arrived in Abidjan yesterday, 7 December, for a fourth follow-up and evaluation mission.

UN HUMANITARIAN OFFICE SEEKS MORE SUPPORT FOR WATER-HARVESTING

PROGRAMME TO INCREASE ETHIOPIA’S RURAL FOOD SECURITY

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA CROP PROSPECTS MIXED, SAYS FAO REPORT

23 Countries Face Food Shortages, Others Expect Bumper Harvests

ROME, 8 December (FAO) -- Though some regions in sub-Saharan Africa can expect bumper crops, food shortages are forecast in 23 countries throughout the continent, according to the Africa Report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)*.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan flew from New York to Los Angeles on Tuesday, 2 December, where he arrived in the early afternoon.

GENEVA ACCORD OFFERS HOPE OF RECONCILIATION, PEACE TO ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS,

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS FOLLOWING MEETING WITH SIGNATORIES

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

SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN MESSAGE FOR LAUNCH OF U THANT INSTITUTE

HAILS PREDECESSOR’S LEGACY OF FOCUSING ON THE INDIVIDUAL

Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message for the launch of the U Thant Institute, delivered in New York today, 5 December, by Shashi Tharoor, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information:

SECRETARY-GENERAL, IN MESSAGE TO COMMONWEALTH SUMMIT, URGES

DIALOGUE FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION IN ZIMBABWE

Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s message to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Abuja, Nigeria, today, 5 December:

SHARON CAPELING-ALAKIJA’S LIFE DRIVEN BY ‘SENSE OF SOLIDARITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE’,

SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS AT MEMORIAL CEREMONY

Following is the text of the Secretary-General’s remarks at today’s memorial ceremony for Sharon Capeling-Alakija:

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISMAYED AT APPARENT TERRORIST EXPLOSION

IN RUSSIAN COMMUTER TRAIN

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

The Secretary-General was dismayed to learn of this morning’s explosion in a commuter train near the Yessentuki station in the Russian Federation.  This appears to be yet another act of terrorism.  Terrorism can never be justified.