Note to Correspondents                                      Note No. 5654

GOVERNING COUNCIL OF UNITED NATIONS COMPENSATION COMMISSION

APPROVES AWARDS OF OVER $ 2.3 BILLION FOR COMPENSATION

GENEVA, 15 March (UN Information Service) -- The thirty-ninth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission, under the Presidency of Ambassador Sverre Bergh Johansen of Norway, has today approved awards of $2,375,152,650 billion for compensation.

BACKGROUND RELEASE

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS TO HOLD FIFTY-SEVENTH SESSION

AT PALAIS DES NATIONS 19 MARCH - 27 APRIL

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 15 March (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights will hold its fifty-seventh session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 19 March to 27 April.

Resumed Fifty-fifth General Assembly

Fifth Committee

46^th Meeting (AM)

MANAGEMENT OF SECRETARIAT DEPARTMENTS, PROCUREMENT-RELATED ARBITRATION

AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED IN ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY COMMITTEE

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL NOTES SPECIAL PROBLEMS POSED BY ETHNIC CONFLICTS,

IN OPENING REMARKS TO SEMINAR ON ALAND ISLANDS SETTLEMENT

Following are the remarks of Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frèchette to the seminar on “The Aland Islands as an Example for Peaceful Governance” in New York on 15 March:

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME RECOMMENDS PRECAUTIONARY ACTION

REGARDING DEPLETED URANIUM IN KOSOVO

GENEVA, 13 March (UNEP) -- The final report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental impact of depleted uranium (DU) ammunition used during the 1999 Kosovo conflict was released in Geneva today.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR BREAK IN POLITICAL STALEMATE OVER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Following is a text of a statement titled “Sustainable Development: Humanity’s biggest challenge in the new century” made today in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

It is a great honour for me to join you today.  My wife, my team and I have received a very warm welcome, and we thank you all for making us feel very much at home.

RECENT OUTBREAKS OF FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE URGENTLY REQUIRE INTERNATIONAL

ACTION, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION SAYS

USE OF INTERNET AS TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT REVIEWED AT NEW YORK SEMINAR

Representatives from 19 Permanent Missions

Of Spanish-speaking Member States Participate in Seminar Organized by DPI

The United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) is holding a seminar on the theme “The Internet as a Tool for Development”, at United Nations Headquarters, from 12 to 16 March.

Note to Correspondents                                      Note No. 5653