Presidential Statement Says Failure to Achieve Comprehensive Settlement, Inflicts Continued Humanitarian, Economic Hardships on Region
Progress in the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords was as slow and painful as ever -- but it was working, Wolfgang Petritsch, High Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the Security Council this morning.
In accordance with the principle of alphabetical rotation, the following are the new Chairmen of the United Nations security bodies for May:
Security Council
Wang Yingfan (China) succeeds Robert R. Fowler (Canada) as President of the Security Council.
Military Staff Committee
Steady progress had been made in East Timor over the past month, with security on the border with the Indonesian province of West Timor remaining generally stable, and even improving, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hedi Annabi, told the Security Council at an open briefing this morning.
The Security Council this morning welcomed the letters from Secretary- General Kofi Annan that include notification of the decision of the Government of Israel to withdraw its forces in Lebanon in full accordance with Security resolutions 425 (1978) and 426 (1978).
With Unanimous Adoption of Resolution 1296 (2000), Members Extend Concern to Cover Women, Children, Other Vulnerable Groups
Acting under the enforcement provisions of the Charter (Chapter VII), the Security Council this afternoon unanimously voted to tighten its sanctions against the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and undertook to consider additional measures -- use of armed force not included -- to make them more effective.
Concerned by Impact on Innocent Populations, Vulnerable Third Countries, Members Stress Sanctions Role as Behaviour-Changer, Not Primitive Tool
