UNITED NATIONS RESIDENT COORDINATOR DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT DETERIORATION

OF HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN SOOL PLATEAU, SOMALIA

NAIROBI, 30 October (OCHA) -– United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Maxwell Gaylard is deeply concerned that the potential failure of the current short season Deyr rains in the Sool Plateau of Somalia could precipitate a humanitarian disaster affecting 15,500 pastoralist families.

AREA UNDER OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION IN AFGHANISTAN

INCREASED BY 8 PER CENT, UN SAYS

(Reissued as received.)

VIENNA, 29 October (UN Information Service) -- The Afghanistan Opium Survey for 2003, conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for the first time jointly with the Afghanistan Government, confirms the country’s place as the leading producer of opium, responsible for about three quarters of the world’s output.

SECRETARY-GENERAL HAILS PRINCE SADRUDDIN AGA KHAN AS TRUE STATESMAN,

IN REMARKS TO MEMORIAL CEREMONY FOR FORMER REFUGEE CHIEF

Following are the remarks delivered by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the memorial ceremony for Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan in New York on 28 October:

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES SPIRIT OF OPENNESS, FORGIVENESS IN CENTRAL

AFRICAN REPUBLIC NATIONAL RECONCILIATION DIALOGUE

Following is the message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the closing ceremony of the dialogue of national reconciliation in the Central African Republic, as delivered in Bangui on 27 October by General Lamine Cissé, Representative of the Secretary-General in the Central African Republic:

Security Council

4852^nd Meeting (AM & PM)

WOMEN SUFFER DISPROPORTIONATELY DURING AND AFTER WAR, SECURITY COUNCIL

TOLD DURING DAY-LONG DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

Briefed by Peacekeeping Under-Secretary-General,

Note to Correspondents

PANEL DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY TO TAKE PLACE ON 31 OCTOBER

The Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and the Inter-Agency Taskforce on Women, Peace and Security will host a panel discussion on the third anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Friday, 31 October from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in Conference Room 4.

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Fourth Committee

16^th Meeting (PM)

FOURTH COMMITTEE APPROVES TEXT ASKING GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO EMPHASIZE PUBLIC

INFORMATION DEPARTMENT’S ESSENTIAL ROLE AS UN’S CLEAR, EFFECTIVE VOICE

Acting Without Vote, Delegates Approve Second Draft Resolutions, Draft Decision

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Third Committee

27^th Meeting (PM)

CONCERNS RAISED IN THIRD COMMITTEE ON RELATION OF RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION

TO TERRITORIAL, POLITICAL INTEGRITY OF STATES

Draft Resolutions Introduced on Children in Armed Conflict, Indigenous People

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Sixth Committee

16^th & 17^th Meetings (AM & PM)

LEGAL COMMITTEE REVIEWS DIPLOMATIC PROTECTION, LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE

CAUSED BY ACTIONS NOT PROHIBITED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW

Debate Continues on Further Issues from Law Commission Report

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

First Committee

18^th Meeting (AM)

DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE CONSENSUS TEXT CALLS ON ALL STATES TO SUPPORT EFFORTS

TO PREVENT TERRORISTS FROM ACQUIRING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

One of 12 Drafts Recommended to General Assembly for Adoption;

Disarmament and Development, Mediterranean Security Among Other Issues