AFGHAN TEENS SPEAK OUT AGAINST EARLY MARRIAGE ON WORLD POPULATION DAY

(Reissued as received.)

KABUL, 10 July (UNFPA) -- “If my parents tried to force me to marry, I would refuse”, declared Zohal, 16, as her fellow students nodded in agreement.  The Afghan teenagers had just heard government leaders say that early marriage closes girls’ educational prospects and threatens their health, in a forum marking World Population Day.

Committee on Elimination of

Discrimination against Women

620^th & 621^st Meetings (AM & PM)

EXPERTS IN WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE PRAISE SLOVENIA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK

BUT STRESS NEED TO STRENGTHEN MECHANISMS TO COUNTER INEQUALITY

IN ADDRESS TO AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT, SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTLINES MAJOR CHALLENGES,

URGENT AREAS WHERE AFRICA MUST ‘DEMONSTRATE OWNERSHIP THROUGH ACTION’

Following is the statement delivered by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the African Union Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, on 10 July:

SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNAN CALLS ON AFRICAN LEADERS TO POINT WAY TO TOLERANCE,

UNDERSTANDING AND PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT

Following are the remarks made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the African Union Heads of State prayer breakfast in Maputo, Mozambique on 10 July:

Biographical Note

PRESS STATEMENT ON SITUATION IN BURUNDI BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Following is today’s press statement on Burundi by Security Council President Inocencio Arias (Spain):

Members of the Security Council heard a briefing from the Secretariat on the situation in Burundi and expressed their deep concern over the latest resumption of hostilities and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

FAO SENDS SARS EXPERT TO CHINA

To Investigate Role of Animals in Spreading Virus

(Reissued as received.)

ROME, 10 July (FAO) –- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will send a senior Australian veterinarian to China on Friday for a three-week visit to help coordinate an international investigation into the roles animals might play in spreading the deadly SARS virus.

Note to Correspondents

HANDBOOK FOR PARLIAMENTARIANS ON CONVENTION TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION

AGAINST WOMEN, TO BE PRESENTED AT PANEL DISCUSSION ON 14 JULY

Background Release

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TO HOLD SEVENTY-EIGHTH SESSION

IN GENEVA FROM 14 JULY TO 8 AUGUST

Experts to Examine Reports of Slovakia, Portugal, El Salvador and Israel

(Reissued as received.)

ADOLESCENTS HAVE RIGHT TO HEALTH-CARE SERVICES AND INFORMATION,

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SAYS ON WORLD POPULATION DAY

Following is the message by the President of the General Assembly, Jan Kavan (Czech Republic), to mark World Population Day (11 July), this year’s theme being “One Billion Adolescents:  the Right to Health, Information and Services”: