From the Washington Post: "The top United Nations envoy for the prevention of genocide charged Monday that Arab militias have escalated their campaign of violence against civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan, mounting an unprecedented pair of attacks against camps for displaced families."
UN News Service: Criticizing changes that the Iraqi Parliament made on Sunday to rules for this month's constitutional referendum as "patently inappropriate," Secretary-General Kofi Annan called today's reversal of the decision "very important," but said the transition process in the war-torn country has not "worked as we had hoped."
"The Secretary-General believes that the international community should not tolerate such terrorist attacks," a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement released in New York." [More]
"Sri Lanka's government has declared a state of emergency hours after Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was killed outside his home by sniper fire. The assassination is bound to further strain the shaky cease-fire agreement between Sri Lanka's government and the Tamil Tiger rebels. The truce, in place since February 2002, has been threatened by recent violence and the suspension of talks in 2003.
World leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, were quick to condemn the killing.
"Sri Lanka has lost a deeply respected statesman dedicated to peace and national unity," Annan's spokesman said in a statement. "The secretary-general hopes that this tragedy will not weaken the commitment of the people of Sri Lanka to achieve a durable peace in the country." [Read more]
"Burundi's former rebels handed in weapons to the United Nations on Friday in a symbolic gesture to show they were renouncing war and preparing to govern after elections this month they are set to win." [Read more]
"The United Nations and the United States on Monday called the death of former Sudanese rebel leader John Garang a loss for the country and urged all factions to carry out the peace process he began.
The United Nations, which has sent troops to implement a landmark agreement in southern Sudan, helped retrieve Garang's body from a helicopter that crashed on Sunday while en route home from Uganda, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.
"He is larger than life, rather charismatic and believed in his mission with all his being," Annan told reporters. "He lived and fought for his dream. And just as he was on the verge of it, he lost his life." [More]
By Anna Tibaijuka, UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement issues in Zimbabwe
"A recent United Nations fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe to assess Operation Murambatsvina has provided a road-map out of the crisis. The following is an edited extract from the report:
About 700 000 people in cities across the country have either lost their homes or their livelihoods or both. The government of Zimbabwe should immediately halt any further demolitions of homes and informal businesses and create conditions for sustainable relief and reconstruction for those affected.
There is an urgent need for the government of Zimbabwe to facilitate humanitarian operations within a pro-poor, gender--sensitive policy framework that provides security of tenure, affordable housing, water and sanitation, and the pursuit of small scale income--generating activities in a regulated and enabling environment." [Read more]
CNN: "The two main rebel movements in Sudan's conflict-ridden western Darfur region have signed an agreement to stop all acts of enmities and friction between their supporters to maintain unity in the strife-torn province.
The United Nations has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis and said it has claimed 70,000 lives and 1.5 million people are now homeless after having fled their homes since February 2003."
Washington Post Op-Ed
By UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
"Today I am traveling to Brussels to join representatives of more than 80 governments and institutions in sending a loud and clear message of support for the political transition in Iraq.
A year ago, in Resolution 1546, the U.N. Security Council set out the timetable that Iraq, with the assistance of the United Nations and the international community, was expected to fulfill. The Brussels conference is a chance to reassure the Iraqi people that the international community stands with them in their brave efforts to rebuild their country, and that we recognize how much progress has been made in the face of daunting challenges." [More]