More than six million people had been killed by small arms -- as opposed to weapons of mass destruction -- in the last 10 years, confounding the expectations of a peace dividend that accompanied the end of the cold war, former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.
Although Colombia had suffered internal conflict for over 40 years, it was not split by a civil war and would not become the next Viet Nam, nor bring about World War III, that countrys President, Andres Pastrana, told correspondents this afternoon at a press conference.
The United Nations Millennium Summit had been billed as the largest gathering of world leaders ever, and, with over 149 heads of State and government so far in attendance, it was living up to its name, Therese Gastaut, Spokeswoman for the Co-Chairs of the Millennium Summit told correspondents at a press briefing today.
Tuesday afternoons Meeting of Women Heads of State and Government presented an opportunity to survey the achievements and failings of the past century and to reflect on the goals, aims and values to be promoted in the coming one, President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference.
Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of the first roundtable of the Millennium Summit, said at a press conference this evening that the central theme of the discussions was the challenges posed by globalization and how its forces could be moderated.
The United Nations Web site had undergone a dramatic facelift, the Chief of Information Technology in the Department of Public Information, Mahbub Ahmad, told correspondents at the launching of the redesigned United Nations Web site at a Headquarters press briefing Friday afternoon, 1 September.
With international attention focused on the United Nations on the eve of an unprecedented gathering of world leaders, it was extremely regrettable that the United States had blocked participation of a delegation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Li Hyong Chol, Permanent Representative of that country, told correspondents this afternoon.
Kamalesh Sharma, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, met with correspondents this morning at a Headquarters briefing to launch and discuss Imagining Tomorrow: Rethinking the Global Challenge, a book he edited and coordinated.
