UN News

"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today praised the bravery of the Iraqi people for voting in Saturday's constitutional referendum and voiced hope that their use of "ballots not bullets" would bode well for the future. "The Iraqi population showed incredible courage, going to vote in large numbers despite the security situation on the ground," he told reporters at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The constitutional process should have been "an exercise that would have been totally inclusive, and pull together all the Iraqis, helping with reconciliation," he said, adding: "Obviously, that did not happen." Asked whether the referendum would foster change, he said it would be difficult to predict what would happen after the votes are counted. "I think your question implies, would the violence cease after this process? I don't think we can legitimately expect that, given the facts and what we know," he said. "But at least, they have chosen to use ballots and not bullets, and I hope this is a lesson that will auger well in the future," the Secretary-General added." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events United Nations Agencies Rushing Relief to Pakistan In Portugal, Annan Says Rule of Law Safeguards Against Rule of War UN Nuclear Watchdog in Talks With Iran on Access U.N. Links Poverty, Violence Against Women Bird Flu Vaccine Could Take Months, U.N. Says Angolan Refugees Return Home from DRC on a Road Rebuilt by UNHCR Government Advice to Beat Bird Flu: Wash Your Hands More Frequently Actress Angelina Jolie Wins UN Humanitarian Award

Mohamed ElBaradei addressing delegates at the IAEA General Conference 2005 in Vienna, Austria. "The International Atomic Energy Agency and its chief Mohamed ElBaradei won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2005, the prize's custodians announced today, saying that they hoped it will strengthen the United Nations organization and help stop the spread of nuclear weapons. "This is a message to all people in the world to help abolish all nuclear weapons," said the chairman of the prize committee, Ole Danbold Mjos, after announcing the winner beneath crystal chandeliers in a small vaulted room on the third floor of the Norwegian Nobel Institute here. Mr. ElBaradei and the agency will share the prize. Mr. ElBaradei, 63, has championed the peaceful use of nuclear energy while emphasizing quiet diplomacy in trying to dissuade countries from using the technology to develop weapons. He has been at the center of non-proliferation crises involving all three states that President Bush once labeled the axis of evil, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Iran and North Korea." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events UN Legal Counsel urges action to complete comprehensive terrorism convention Security Council Strongly Condemns Deadly Weekend Bombing in Bali, Indonesia UN Ship Safe in Somali Port After 100-day Hijack U.N. Security Worker Shot Dead in Somalia U.N. Eyes Iraq Voting Law Changes Bush Weighs Strategies to Counter Possible Outbreak of Bird Flu

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events Annan Urges All Sides to 'seize opportunity' of Northern Ireland Disarmament: "United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all sides in the Northern Ireland dispute to seize the "unique opportunity" offered by the decommissioning of weapons by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to advance the 1998 Good Friday agreement laying out a framework for a peaceful and democratic settlement." Rice Arrives in Haiti for Visit Ahead of Elections Tehran Warns Against UN Referral Cocaine Is Killing Colombian Nature Parks More Foreign Aid on Way for Indonesian Bird Flu Fight UN Refugee Boss Says World Tackling Past Failures UN: Governments must act promptly and effectively
on important human rights commitments in
2005 World Summit Document Groups Promote Mideast Peace Via Youth CO2 Storage May Minimize Climate Change

"The representatives of small and medium-sized countries voiced their opinions on a wide range of issues facing the international community and their own governments, including United Nations reform and moving to greater equity in economic development and human rights, as the General Assembly completed the sixth day of its annual debate for the current 60th anniversary session." [Read more]

Secretary-General Kofi Annan rings the Japanese Peace Bell in observance of the International Day of Peace "From its Headquarters complex in New York, where Secretary-General Kofi Annan solemnly rang the Peace Bell, to its furthest outposts on the front-line of conflict prevention to cyberspace, the United Nations Wednesday celebrated the annual International Day of Peace with ceremonies around the world. "Peace is the paramount United Nations mission," Mr. Annan declared as he stood in front of the bell, a gift from Japan cast from the pennies donated by children from 60 nations, before driving the ringing beam into it three times. "It is the basis of our existence. The essence of our identity. The cause that animates everything we do." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events A Woman Prepares to Cast her Vote - Kabul Vote Counting Starts in Afghanistan Afghanistan Elections Just a 'Baby Step' Toward Democracy UN Investigators Take Hariri Probe to Syria Rice Challenges United Nations To Seize Opportunity To Reform IAEA Chief Urges More Diplomacy on Iran Fresh fighting in Sudan's Darfur region threatens 33,000 people

"While the focus of the summit that ended Friday was largely on efforts to overhaul the U.N. management and human rights machinery, the original thrust of the event was to take stock of progress made toward achieving a series of goals set in 2000: To cut poverty by half, ensure universal primary education and stem the AIDS pandemic, all by 2015." [More]