Report of the Secretary-General 3

Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization

Following is the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Organization, dated 28 August 2003, submitted to the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly. The Assembly took note of it on 9 October (decision 58/506). On 23 December, the Assembly decided that the agenda item would remain for consideration during the resumed fifty-eighth (2004) session (decision 58/565).

Introduction mitted a crime, not only against the United Nations, but against Iraq itself. 1. This is my seventh annual report on the work of the United Nations. Once again I take 4. During the past year the United Nations stock of what the Organization has done during has been involved in peace operations in many the past year and how it has responded to the parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Côte heavy demands upon it. The chapters of this re- d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, port bear evidence of the ever-increasing number Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. In Libe- and scope of the tasks that the Organization per- ria, the multinational force authorized by the forms in diverse areas such as peace and security, Security Council is helping to restore security economic and social development, humanitarian and stability, and in due course will be replaced assistance, international law, human rights and by a United Nations peacekeeping force. Peace the environment. The Organization has made agreements by themselves, however, mark only good progress in many areas, but in other impor- the first step in bringing lasting peace and pros- tant fields it will take more time to achieve its perity to war-torn societies. The traumatic rup- goals. ture of economic, political and social relations between groups and individuals characterizes 2. Undoubtedly, in the area of peace and such societies. Creating or rebuilding civil society security, it has been a trying year for the United is a crucial long-term commitment and is essen- Nations. The war in Iraq severely tested the prin- tial to establishing and consolidating democracy. ciple of collective security and the resilience of Democratic institutions and principles should be the Organization. Rarely in its fifty-eight-year embedded within a self-sustaining civil society. history have such dire forecasts been made about Countries emerging from civil strife must find the United Nations. The United Nations will their own paths to humane governance and na- emerge strengthened if we make a measured ap- tional reconciliation, but international assistance preciation of what happened, think about the will often be necessary. sort of Organization we want in the future, and 5. The international community continues to start making the necessary changes. take action to combat international terrorism, es- 3. On 19 August 2003 the United Nations pecially in view of new attacks in Indonesia, Mo- headquarters in Iraq was subjected to a cold- rocco, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and blooded and savage attack. This was the most de- elsewhere. Human rights must not be sacrificed liberate and vicious attack against the United in the struggle against international terrorism, Nations in its history. My Special Representative, however. Moreover, while poverty and grievance Sergio Vieira de Mello, and other devoted ser- over injustices are only indirectly related to ter- vants of the United Nations were brutally mur- rorism, and cannot excuse it, these indirect links dered, and many others were wounded. I would must nonetheless be taken into account in strate- like to pay tribute to all of them for their courage gies aimed at reducing the incidence of terrorist and commitment to the ideals of the United acts. Promoting measures to reduce poverty, ad- Nations. I wish to express my profound and dress injustices, strengthen good governance heartfelt sympathy to their loved ones. Those ex- and build tolerance are essential to that end, as tremists who killed our colleagues have com- well as for their own sake. To keep a genuinely

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 4 Report of the Secretary-General global coalition against terrorism together the to achieve mutual objectives and to accommodate world will need to see progress on the other fronts different national interests. In calculating their of the struggle for a humane and just world national interests, they should give due weight to order. the value and importance of a just and stable 6. Disarmament, including the eradication of world order. weapons of mass destruction, remains a major priority for the international community. Recent developments have underlined the potential Chapter I threat of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists. The existing global dis- Achieving peace and security armament norms relevant to weapons of mass de- 11. During the past year, United Nations ac- struction need to be strengthened and protected tivities in the area of peace and security contin- against erosion. Disarmament requires multilat- ued to focus on the prevention and resolution of eral cooperation and can be accomplished only in conflict and the provision of assistance to socie- an atmosphere of trust. ties emerging from conflict. While the United 7. While the immediate and urgent chal- Nations attempted to address a variety of new lenges of peace and security require sedulous at- challenges in this field, issues such as terrorism tention, it is also important that they should not and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruc- divert attention from our work in economic and tion remained of great concern. The war in Iraq social development. At present, there is a wide highlighted how rapidly the security environ- gap between the rhetoric of inclusion and the re- ment in which we now live can evolve, as well as ality of exclusion. Our efforts for peace will be in the diversity of perceptions on how global peace vain unless we can begin to bridge this gap by and security should be maintained. achieving real progress for the poorest countries 12. Increasingly, civil conflicts pose a serious in the world. Furthermore, our efforts to contain threat to international peace and security. They and resolve conflicts should not drain resources create situations in which perpetrators of vio- from other fights that we are waging around the lence act with impunity. In these zones of impu- world to protect refugees and displaced persons, nity, the scourges of our time—drug trafficking, to combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and to arms trafficking, human trafficking, the training promote sustainable development. of terrorists—flourish. Illicit transboundary net- 8. The outbreak of the severe acute respira- works of finance and trade link these zones, fo- tory syndrome (SARS) was a sobering reminder of menting instability that affects entire regions, or the world’s vulnerability to disease and the risks even the international system itself. Decades of of it spreading rapidly across borders. At the development efforts and centuries of social cohe- same time, the effective coordinated response sion can thus be undone in a short period of time. demonstrated the value of multilateral coopera- The impact on women and girls is particularly se- tion, in this case through the professional and vere, as is made clear in my report on women and speedy intervention of the World Health Organi- peace and security submitted to the Security zation. Council in October 2002. The complex nature of 9. In order to address the broad range of con- present threats to peace and security has led the temporary international problems it is important United Nations system increasingly to focus on to forge partnerships and alliances. Govern- thematic issues. Indicative of this is the continu- ments alone do not have the capacity to find solu- ing practice of the Security Council to convene tions to these problems. We must continue to find open meetings on questions such as children and greater opportunities for the private sector, non- armed conflict, women and peace and security, governmental organizations and civil society, in civilians in armed conflict and small arms. This general, to contribute to the realization of the Or- practice has now been expanded to include the- ganization’s goals. matic issues in a regional context, such as small 10. The United Nations is not an end in itself. arms and mercenary activities as threats to peace Rather, it is an instrument for achieving common and security in West Africa (18 March 2003) and ends. The strength and effectiveness of the Or- Africa’s food crisis as a threat to peace and ganization depends on the active support of its security (7 April 2003). Member States and their policies. Moreover, 13. The means available to the United achievement of the Organization’s purposes re- Nations for the discharge of its responsibilities in quires a shared consensus about its fundamental the area of international peace and security vary goals. That does not mean that Member States from preventive diplomacy to peacemaking, need to agree on all issues. However, it does mean peacekeeping and peace-building. In practice, that they should be ready to use the Organization the issues falling within these four areas of action

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 5 are integrally related. In Cyprus and Western Coalition Provisional Authority, assisting the Sahara, for example, peacemaking and peace- people of Iraq in such areas as humanitarian as- keeping have been taking place side by side for sistance, reconstruction and development, hu- years. Any peace-building effort—Afghanistan is man rights, legal and judicial reform and the a good example—has a strong component of pre- restoration of an internationally recognized, rep- ventive diplomacy, as applied in the context of a resentative Government of Iraq. I proceeded to post-conflict situation. The present report con- appoint a Special Representative for an initial pe- tains a special section on Iraq, in acknowledge- riod of four months. ment of the central place that this question occu- 17. My Special Representative travelled exten- pied on the agenda of the Organization and in sively throughout Iraq and met representatives of the attention of world public opinion over the a wide and diverse spectrum of Iraqi society. He year under review. and his team also established regular contacts with the Administrator and other officials of the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority. I and my Special 14. On 16 September 2002, the Minister for Representative initiated a dialogue with leaders Foreign Affairs of Iraq informed me that his Gov- of countries neighbouring Iraq and the broader ernment had decided to allow the return of international community. In my first report to United Nations weapons inspectors without con- the Security Council (S/2003/715) I stressed the ditions. This followed a series of discussions I fundamental principles underlying the activities had held with the Iraqi side in March, May and of the United Nations under resolution 1483 July 2002, as well as my appeal in the General As- (2003)—including the need to restore sovereignty sembly in September 2002, urging Iraq to comply to the people of Iraq as soon as possible and the with its obligations under Security Council reso- need to respect the Iraqi people’s right to deter- lutions. I welcomed the resumption of inspec- mine their political future—and our desire to tions by the United Nations Monitoring, Verifica- keep foremost in mind the interests of the Iraqi tion and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC)in people in our assistance activities. The report Iraq in November 2002 that followed the unani- provided an initial assessment of the scope of the mous adoption of Security Council resolution challenges involved in implementing the man- 1441(2002). It was with regret that I noted in the date conferred by resolution 1483(2003) and indi- report of 27 January 2003 of the Executive cated those areas in which I consider that the Chairman of UNMOVIC that while Iraq was coop- United Nations can play a useful role, on the erating on process it did not appear to have come basis of its expertise and comparative advantage. to a genuine acceptance of its obligations. To this end, I proposed the establishment of a 15. By early March 2003 there were divisions United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq in the Security Council as to how to proceed. I (UNAMI). On 14 August, the Security Council, continued to urge united international action, as by resolution 1500(2003), decided to establish well as constant and persistent pressure on the UNAMI for an initial period of 12 months. The leadership of Iraq, through daily exchanges with Council also welcomed the establishment, on 13 Council members, the League of Arab States, July 2003, of the broadly representative Govern- UNMOVIC and others both in New York and in ing Council of Iraq, as an important step towards capitals. By mid-March it was clear, however, that the formation of an internationally recognized, some Member States had taken the position that representative and sovereign Government of it was impossible to resolve the crisis without the Iraq. use of force. On 17March I informed the Council 18. The wanton attack on the United Nations that I would suspend United Nations activities in headquarters building in Baghdad on 19 August Iraq and withdraw all remaining United Nations 2003 dealt a severe blow to the Organization’s system personnel the following day. efforts at assisting Iraq’s return to normalcy. My 16. Following the end of major hostilities, Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, which had resulted in the occupation of Iraq by a and several international and local staff members coalition headed by the United States of America lost their lives in this cowardly act, while many and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and more were injured. Their sacrifice will not be in Northern Ireland, and after protracted delibera- vain. The United Nations will continue helping tions, the Security Council adopted, on 22 May the Iraqi people to rebuild their country and re- 2003, resolution 1483(2003). In paragraph 8 of gain their sovereignty,under leaders of their own the resolution the Council requested me to ap- choosing. Meanwhile, I shall continue to empha- point a Special Representative whose responsibil- size that it is vital that the people of Iraq see a ities would include coordinating United Nations clear timetable with a specific sequence of events activities in Iraq and, in coordination with the leading to the full restoration of sovereignty as

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 6 Report of the Secretary-General soon as possible. This means that the establish- 4 June 2003, where the two sides made a firm ment of the Governing Council must be followed commitment to implementing the road map. by a constitutional process run by Iraqis for 21. Despite the recent signs of progress, the vi- Iraqis. To this end, the United Nations will main- cious circle of violence, retaliation and revenge tain an active role in facilitating and supporting continued during most of the period under re- the political process. My new Special Representa- view, resulting in further substantial loss of life tive will continue to work with the Governing and destruction. A total collapse of the Palestin- Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority ian economy was prevented only by the infusion and will pursue further the dialogue with leaders of significant foreign assistance, including of the countries of the region and beyond. through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Conflict prevention and peacemaking and other United Nations agencies and pro- 19. A comprehensive exercise is under way to grammes. A deteriorating security environment implement my report of 2001 on the prevention and problems of access hampered the efforts of of armed conflict. A vital task in this respect is to the United Nations and others to address the foster the building of conflict prevention capaci- growing humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Pal- ties at local and national levels and the elabora- estinian Territory, as further detailed in the fol- tion of regional preventive strategies that would lowing chapter. integrate political and developmental elements. 22. Through my direct contacts and the The United Nations System Chief Executives Quartet mechanism, most recently at the meet- Board for Coordination chose preventing armed ing of the Quartet on 22 June 2003 on the shores conflict as the main theme of its second regular of the Dead Sea, in Jordan, I remained person- session of 2002, offering an opportunity to pro- ally engaged in efforts at achieving peace in the mote greater coherence and coordination in Middle East. The Security Council was kept in- system-wide efforts in the field of structural con- formed of those efforts and relevant develop- flict prevention, at the national, regional and ments in monthly briefings by the Secretariat. international levels. The resolution recently The final goal of the road map, and of the entire adopted by the General Assembly on the preven- peace process, remains a comprehensive settle- tion of armed conflict gives the United Nations a ment of the Middle East conflict, including the strong mandate not only to continue but to ex- Syrian-Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli tracks, on the pand and intensify its conflict prevention activi- basis of Security Council resolutions 242(1967), ties. 338(1973) and 1397(2002), the Madrid Peace Con- 20. After almost three years of violence and ference of 1991 and the principle of land for confrontation, new hope for the resumption of peace, agreements previously reached by the par- the stalled Middle East peace process has finally ties, and the peace initiative endorsed by the emerged. Following the appointment of a Prime League of Arab States at its Beirut summit in Minister of the Palestinian Authority,a road map March 2002. to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli- 23. I regret to report that the Cyprus prob- Palestinian conflict was formally presented to the lem, despite the intensive exercise of my good of- parties on 30 April 2003. This performance- fices, remains unresolved. The lifting of travel re- based blueprint, elaborated by the Quartet (the strictions between the north and south of the United Nations, the European Union, the island in recent months, while welcome, is no Russian Federation and the United States of substitute for a comprehensive settlement of the America) at a series of meetings, includes clear core issues. A unique opportunity to achieve a phases, timelines and benchmarks. It aims at settlement was squandered—a settlement which achieving progress through parallel and recipro- would have allowed a reunited Cyprus to sign the cal steps by the two parties in the political, Treaty of Accession to the European Union on 16 security, economic, humanitarian and institution- April 2003. With time running out before the building fields, under an effective international Treaty’s signature, and with hopes renewed by monitoring mechanism. This process should the election in November 2002 of a Government lead to the establishment of an independent, of Turkey that seemed genuinely disposed to re- democratic and viable Palestinian State existing solving the question, I submitted in November side by side in peace and security with Israel and 2002 a draft comprehensive settlement to the two its other neighbours, as affirmed in Security Cypriot leaders. Despite their agreeing to negoti- Council resolution 1397(2002). I was particularly ate on the basis of that plan, the negotiations encouraged by the outcome of the summit meet- failed to result in an agreement and in April 2003 ing between the parties and the President of the I closed the office of my Special Adviser. A settle- United States of America at Aqaba, Jordan, on ment before the entry into force of the Treaty of

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Accession to the European Union—on 1 May onciliation Conference that opened in October 2004—would still allow a reunited Cyprus to ac- 2002 in Kenya, under the auspices of the cede to the European Union. I do not believe, Intergovernmental Authority on Development however, that any purpose would be served by my (IGAD). By mid-2003, Somali delegates had en- taking a new initiative unless the parties demon- dorsed the reports of five of the six Reconcilia- strate their commitment to a settlement on the tion Committees covering important issues relat- basis of the plan. Should such a commitment be ing to peace-building in Somalia. Still under forthcoming, I shall resume active efforts to re- discussion, before they could move to power- solve this long-standing dispute. In the mean- sharing, was a report on the question of a provi- time, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in sional charter for a future transitional Govern- Cyprus continues to monitor the buffer zone ment. I hope that the Somali leaders will build on across the island. the Eldoret Declaration of 27 October 2002 and 24. Early in 2003, the Government of Angola reach a final and inclusive agreement backed by a and the National Union for the Total Indepen- serious commitment to its implementation. dence of Angola (UNITA) completed the imple- 27. Progress achieved at the IGAD-led peace mentation of the political aspects of the 1994 talks on the Sudan has improved the prospects for Lusaka Protocol. This led to the dissolution of lasting peace there. The momentum created by the United Nations Mission in Angola. The the signing of the Machakos Protocol, in July Security Council lifted sanctions against UNITA 2002, if sustained, could lead to a comprehensive in December 2002. Responsibility for the remain- agreement soon. My Special Adviser and staff ing activities envisaged by the Security Council from the Secretariat will continue to support the was transferred to a strengthened office of the mediation efforts. In addition, the United United Nations Resident Coordinator, through Nations Resident Coordinator in the Sudan has which the United Nations Development Pro- prepared an extensive programme to promote gramme (UNDP) and other United Nations agen- economic recovery and thus buttress the peace cies are supporting communities in the sustain- talks. able reintegration of former combatants and 28. Faced with a continuing stalemate in internally displaced persons. They are also work- Western Sahara, the Security Council requested ing to strengthen national capacity on mine my Personal Envoy to put forward a political solu- action and implement mine-clearing operations; tion that would provide for self-determination of monitor the respect of human rights through a the people of Western Sahara, taking into ac- special unit attached to the Resident Coordina- count concerns expressed by the parties and con- tor’s Office; and strengthen international coordi- sulting, as appropriate, others with relevant ex- nation to assist the Government in organizing a perience. A plan was accordingly presented to donor conference. Morocco, the Frente POLISARIO, Algeria and 25. In Burundi, the second phase of the tran- Mauritania in January 2003. In March, Morocco sition began in May 2003 with the inauguration and the Frente POLISARIO expressed their reser- of the new President and Vice-President. Facilita- vations to the plan. Early in July, however, the tion efforts involving the United Nations led to Frente POLISARIO informed my Personal Envoy the signing of ceasefire agreements between the of its acceptance of the peace plan. On 9 July, an- Transitional Government and three of the four other text of the peace plan, amended to add a armed groups, and the establishment of a Joint third ballot choice in the eventual referendum, Ceasefire Commission. In April 2003, the Afri- providing for self-government or autonomy, was can Union authorized the deployment of the Af- transmitted to the parties. On 31 July, the rican Mission in Burundi to assist in the imple- Security Council unanimously adopted resolu- mentation of the ceasefire. United Nations tion 1495(2003), by which it expressed its support agencies are continuing to help the African for the peace plan for self-determination of the Union to demobilize and reintegrate combatants people of Western Sahara and called upon the in support of the full implementation of the parties to work with the United Nations and with Arusha Agreement. Nonetheless, the continua- each other towards its acceptance and implemen- tion of the fighting, most recently in July 2003, tation. Meanwhile, the United Nations Mission points to the urgent need to address all of the out- for the Referendum in Western Sahara continued standing issues in the peace process. I welcome to monitor the ceasefire between the parties, in the regional initiatives aimed at implementing a effect since September 1991. ceasefire. 29. Since my first meeting in Paris, in Sep- 26. My Representative for Somalia continued tember 2002, with the President of Cameroon to encourage the parties to reach an inclusive and and the President of Nigeria, my good offices credible agreement at the Somalia National Rec- were made available to the two countries as they

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 8 Report of the Secretary-General negotiated a resolution of their border dispute. and air links, and take other confidence-building At the request of the two heads of State, after our measures. I hope that those measures will lead to second meeting in November 2002 at Geneva, I the resumption of sustained dialogue and to real established the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Com- progress towards a peaceful settlement of the mission, chaired by my Special Representative for outstanding problems between these two neigh- West Africa, to facilitate a peaceful implementa- bours, including over Jammu and Kashmir. tion of the ruling of the International Court of 33. Despite a ceasefire agreement and several Justice of October 2002 on the land and mari- rounds of talks between the Government of Ne- time boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria pal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), and help to build confidence between the two the emerging peace process is still fragile. The countries. The Mixed Commission holds peri- United Nations remains prepared to provide as- odic meetings, alternately in Yaoundéand Abuja. sistance to strengthen the process, including in Progress has been made with the creation of two the area of human rights. The United Nations subcommissions, one on the demarcation of the system, through the Resident Coordinator and land boundary and another on affected popula- programmes such as UNDP and the United tions. The latter subcommission will assess the Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has reori- situation of the populations affected by the ented humanitarian, reconstruction and devel- Court’s ruling and consider modalities relating opment assistance to better support the peace to the protection of their rights. process. 30. In Latin America, the United Nations 34. The peace process in Sri Lanka, which Verification Mission in Guatemala continued to had begun to make encouraging progress after oversee the implementation of the 1996 peace the ceasefire of February 2002, suffered a setback agreements, the timeline for which extends to in April 2003, when the Liberation Tigers of 2004. Although the Government had pledged to TamilEelam suspended participation in negotia- accelerate implementation after a meeting of the tions with the Government of Sri Lanka. I fully Consultative Group in February 2002, the Group support the ongoing efforts by the Governments concluded at its subsequent meeting in May 2003 of Norway and Japan to further the peace pro- that insufficient progress had been made. In- cess, and hope the talks will resume as soon as creased attacks on human rights defenders and possible. The United Nations system, through judges, and persistent social unrest, were of par- the Resident Coordinator and in collaboration ticular concern. Conversely, renewed civil society with the World Bank, will continue to support the activism in support of the peace agreements al- process through reconstruction and development lowed some grounds for optimism. activities. 31. I continued to provide my good offices to 35. The implementation of the Bougainville the search for a peaceful solution to the nearly Peace Agreement of August 2001 between the 40-year-old conflict in Colombia. Despite the Bougainville parties and the Government of Pa- rupture in talks between the Government of Co- pua New Guinea has made significant headway. lombia and the two major guerrilla groups—the Following the verification and notification by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and United Nations Political Office in Bougainville the National Liberation Army—my Special Ad- (UNPOB) of the completion of stage II of the viser on Colombia has continued, through regu- weapons disposal plan at the end of July 2003, the lar contacts with the Government, guerrilla constitutional amendments providing for the es- groups, civil society and the international com- tablishment of an autonomous Bougainville Gov- munity, to assist peacemaking efforts. In addi- ernment and a referendum on Bougainville’s fu- tion, the Office of the United Nations High Com- ture political status have become operational. missioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has worked with While UNPOB is expected to successfully com- the United Nations country team and my Special plete its mandate by the end of 2003, the United Adviser to address the growing problem of dis- Nations system and the donor community will placed persons within the country. The expand- need to continue providing assistance to the par- ing conflict, which is fuelled by funds from the ties in the implementation of the Agreement. illicit drug trade, constitutes a significant chal- 36. I am gratified to note the continuing co- lenge for the United Nations organizations that operation between the United Nations and the are working to alleviate its adverse humanitarian Government of Indonesia in support of the lat- effects and address its root causes. ter’s pursuit of political, economic and social re- 32. Relations between India and Pakistan im- forms. I remain convinced that Indonesia’s na- proved, and it was announced in May 2003 that tional unity and territorial integrity can best be the two countries would appoint High Commis- ensured through respect for democratic norms sioners to each other’s capitals, restore rail, road and the promotion of human rights. Accordingly,

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I have called upon all parties to the conflict in Myanmar to heed the call by the international Aceh to uphold their obligations to protect civil- community, including the countries of the re- ians in armed conflict and to resume dialogue. I gion, and release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and have also been following closely the Indonesian other NLD leaders without further delay. Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal for Crimes Committed in East Timor; I firmly believe that Peacekeeping and peace-building the perpetrators of serious human rights viola- 39. Peacekeeping and peace-building are two tions in 1999 in Timor-Leste (then East Timor) sides of the same coin, providing as they do assist- must be brought to justice. ance to societies emerging from conflict so that 37. I have been paying particular attention to they can consolidate their fragile peace. Whether the crisis on the Korean Peninsula that was trig- through the dispatch of Blue Helmets or by au- gered by an alleged admission in October 2002 by thorizing the deployment of a multinational the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that it force, the United Nations has actively supported was carrying out a uranium-enrichment pro- the transition from war to peace in many parts of gramme. This was followed by the withdrawal of the world. Moreover, through its peace-building the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from efforts, the Organization and the broader United the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Nations system have provided political, humani- Weapons and by its claim to possess nuclear tarian and development assistance to meet imme- weapons. A legacy of deep mutual mistrust and diate emergency and reconstruction needs, as hostility between the Democratic People’s Re- well as to establish viable institutions. I am glad to public of Korea and other States, particularly the note the successful completion of the United United States of America, has contributed to con- Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and tinuing tensions in the region. In January 2003, I the United Nations Mission of Observers in became concerned that the humanitarian pipe- Prevlaka, which demonstrate that the United line to the Democratic People’s Republic of Ko- Nations can complete complex mandates within rea might dry up. I dispatched my Personal En- a realistic time frame. voy to the country in January and March 2003 to 40. On 4 December 2002, the Security Coun- help prevent a humanitarian disaster and pre- cil authorized a gradual increase in the troop pare the way for a negotiated settlement. My En- strength of the United Nations Organization voy had extensive and useful discussions with se- Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo nior government officials in Pyongyang, as well (MONUC) to 8,700, with a view to contributing to as in other capitals concerned about develop- the disarmament, demobilization and repatria- ments on the Korean Peninsula. The dangers in- tion of foreign armed groups. On 17 December, herent in the Korean situation cast an ominous the participants in the inter-Congolese dialogue cloud over the security and stability of the re- signed a Global and All-Inclusive Agreement gion. The international consensus that the Ko- and, on 2 April 2003, the Final Act, formally en- rean Peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons dorsing that Agreement, the Transitional Consti- and the commitment of all major players to find- tution and 36 resolutions that had been adopted ing a peaceful solution to the crisis allow for at an earlier session of the inter-Congolese dia- guarded optimism that a comprehensive resolu- logue, in April 2002, thus paving the way for the tion can be achieved. I shall continue to lend my formation of a Transitional Government. In May full support to the multilateral diplomatic pro- 2003, in view of the progress made at the national cess launched in April 2003 in Beijing and ex- level, I presented to the Security Council a com- panded thereafter. prehensive strategy for the role of MONUC in 38. My Special Envoy to Myanmar undertook support of the transition. Despite the political his ninth and tenth missions to Yangon in No- progress, however, fighting continued in the east- vember 2002 and June 2003, respectively, to try to ern regions of the country; it was especially in- facilitate national reconciliation and democrati- tense in Ituri and the Kivus, where massacres and zation. My Envoy met the major political actors— widespread human rights violations were com- leaders of the State Peace and Development mitted. In response to the rapid deterioration of Council, officials of the National League for De- security in Ituri, and recognizing the threat it mocracy (NLD) and ethnic minority political par- posed to the peace process, the Security Council ties. The incident of 30 May 2003, which resulted on 30 May authorized the deployment of an In- in the detention of many NLD officials, including terim Emergency Multinational Force in Bunia, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, renewed concerns about in the Ituri region. The Force was fielded by the progress towards national reconciliation and the European Union, with France as the lead nation. eventual transition to democracy. I have urged The deployment of that Force, until 1 September and will continue to urge the Government of 2003, offered the United Nations and the inter-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 10 Report of the Secretary-General national community the opportunity to work in ber 2002, while the repatriation of Sierra the meantime to strengthen local political insti- Leonean refugees from neighbouring countries tutions and ensure that the humanitarian crisis continues. UNHCR, UNDP and the World Bank did not continue to deteriorate. The Transitional have been working to ensure recovery at the local Government was formally installed in July 2003, level, to strengthen the Government’s capacity to with the swearing-in of the four new Vice- deliver services and to provide economic alterna- Presidents, the Ministers and the Deputy Minis- tives for former combatants and refugees. The ters. By resolution 1493(2003) of 28 July, acting Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Special Court have started functioning and the Nations, the Security Council authorized an in- Security Council has authorized the deployment crease in the Mission’s strength to 10,800. of 170 civilian police to UNAMSIL to assist in the 41. In September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire was training of the local police. plunged into a civil conflict when a group of sol- 43. During the reporting period, the United diers, in an attempted coup, simultaneously at- Nations Peace-building Support Offices in the tacked military installations in Abidjan, Bouaké Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau and and Korhogo. While security forces loyal to the Liberia intensified their efforts to facilitate the Government quickly regained control of Abid- promotion of good governance and national rec- jan, the rebels prevailed in the northern half of onciliation, the consolidation of democratic pro- the country. Mediation efforts by the Economic cesses and the mobilization of international Community of West African States (ECOWAS)re- support for the formulation and implementation sulted, in October 2002, in a ceasefire agreement of reconstruction and development programmes. monitored by French and ECOWAS forces. In Jan- The respective United Nations country teams uary 2003, the Ivorian parties signed the Linas- have been closely associated with this endeavour. Marcoussis Agreement, which called for the The lack of cooperation on the part of governing creation of a Government of National Reconcili- parties, however, and the failure by national ation whose main tasks would be to prepare a stakeholders to resolve their major differences on timetable for credible and transparent national governance issues have seriously hampered the elections, restructure the defence and security United Nations peace-building efforts, especially forces and disarm all armed groups. In May in the Central African Republic and Liberia. 2003, the Security Council authorized the estab- 44. Regrettably,the situation in Liberia took a lishment of the United Nations Mission in Côte dangerous turn as renewed fighting erupted in d’Ivoire (MINUCI), with a mandate to facilitate Monrovia in flagrant violation of a ceasefire the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis agreement signed by the warring parties in Accra Agreement, complementing the operations of on 17June 2003. In addition to inflicting a severe the French and ECOWAS forces. The Mission’s de- blow to the promising prospects for the restora- ployment has proceeded successfully, an initial tion of peace in the country,hostilities led to a hu- group of 26 military liaison officers having ar- manitarian catastrophe and threatened stability rived in Abidjan on 23 June 2003. Throughout in the entire West African subregion. The United the peacemaking process, my Special Represen- Nations, together with other principal interna- tative for West Africa played a critical supporting tional players, has actively supported the sus- role in the international efforts that resulted in tained peacemaking efforts of the leaders of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement. ECOWAS. On 28 June 2003, I addressed a letter to 42. The United Nations Mission in Sierra the President of the Security Council, with the re- Leone (UNAMSIL) began to implement its draw- quest that the Council take urgent action to down plan, which provides for the total with- authorize, under Chapter VII of the Charter, the drawal of the Mission by the end of 2004, while deployment to Liberia of a highly trained and continuing to assist the Government of Sierra well-equipped multinational force, under the Leone in consolidating peace. The pace of the lead of a Member State, to prevent a major hu- Mission’s drawdown is guided by the ability of manitarian tragedy and to stabilize the situation the security forces of Sierra Leone to guarantee in the country. In anticipation of a greater the security of the country. While the Govern- United Nations involvement in these efforts, I ap- ment took commendable steps to consolidate its pointed a Special Representative for Liberia with authority, its capacity to deliver basic services to the main tasks of coordinating United Nations the population in the provinces has been limited. activities, supporting the emerging transitional The Government has taken measures to restore arrangements and leading an eventual United its control over diamond mining but significant Nations peacekeeping operation in that country. illegal mining persists. The resettlement of inter- On 1 August, the Security Council, by resolution nally displaced persons was completed in Decem- 1497(2003), authorized Member States to estab-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 11 lish a Multinational Force in Liberia and de- 47. The United Nations Interim Force in Leb- clared its readiness to establish a follow-on, anon continued to monitor the Blue Line be- longer-term United Nations stabilization force to tween Israel and Lebanon and to liaise with the relieve the Multinational Force. On 4 August, parties to avert or contain tensions. There were ECOWAS elements of the Multinational Force few violent incidents and only minor ground vio- started deploying in Liberia with United Nations lations of the Line. Frequent Israeli violations of support. To facilitate the cessation of hostilities Lebanese airspace, however, drew retaliatory and the conclusion of a comprehensive peace anti-aircraft fire from Hizbollah. I have contin- agreement, President Charles Taylor relin- ued to remind the parties to respect fully the Blue quished power and left Liberia on 11 August, in Line. The Lebanese armed forces increased their keeping with the commitment he had made at activity in the south, but the Government of Leb- the opening of the peace talks in Accra on 4 June. anon has yet to take all necessary steps to restore I welcomed the subsequent signing by the Libe- its full authority there. The Mine Action Coordi- rian parties, on 18 August, also in Accra, of a nation Centre coordinated the clearance of over comprehensive peace agreement, and called on 4 million square metres of mined area in south- all concerned to seize this opportunity to work ern Lebanon. together to restore peace and stability in the 48. The Government of the Democratic Re- country. public of Timor-Leste worked to strengthen its 45. The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia institutions and security,drawing upon the assist- and Eritrea continued to support the peace pro- ance provided by the United Nations Mission of cess by monitoring the Temporary Security Support in East Timor (UNMISET) and by United Zone; providing logistical support to the Eritrea- Nations agencies. The Government’s civil ad- Ethiopia Boundary Commission; and delivering ministration and police force progressively as- quick-impact projects and coordinating humani- sumed greater responsibility for the manage- ment of day-to-day affairs in their respective tarian assistance in the Temporary Security Zone areas. In an important gesture of commitment and adjacent areas. The Mine Action Coordina- to human rights principles, the Parliament of tion Centre has continued to coordinate all mine- Timor-Leste ratified six core human rights treat- related activities within the Zone and to clear ies and four optional protocols in December access routes to boundary pillar sites. It is impor- 2002. However, in response to rioting in Dili in tant that both parties cooperate fully with the December 2002 and violent attacks by armed ele- Boundary Commission to ensure the demarca- ments in January and February 2003, the tion of the border without undue delay. It is Security Council decided to slow the downsizing equally important for the parties to initiate a pol- schedule for the military and police components itical dialogue, in particular to develop mecha- of UNMISET. nisms to resolve residual and future disputes peacefully. 49. In Afghanistan, the security situation has continued to challenge the implementation of 46. In March 2003, just before the United the Bonn Agreement of December 2001.Progress States–led invasion of Iraq from Kuwait, the man- has nevertheless been made. All the commissions date of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observa- called for in the Agreement have been formed tion Mission (UNIKOM) was suspended and most and have begun their work in their respective of its staff evacuated. UNIKOM maintained a areas of human rights, constitutional and judi- small rear headquarters in Kuwait City to pro- cial reform, and the reorganization of the civil vide a peacekeeping presence, undertake politi- service. The United Nations Assistance Mission cal and military liaison functions, and support in Afghanistan and other United Nations entities United Nations humanitarian assistance pro- have been providing critical support to those grammes for Iraq. While much of UNIKOM head- commissions. The Transitional Administration quarters at Umm Qasr and other infrastructure adopted concrete measures to extend its control were destroyed in the conflict, Camp Khor, on over the country. These included launching a the Kuwaiti side of the border, reopened in May new currency and formulating a national devel- to support humanitarian operations. On 3 July, opment budget. In May 2003, the Administration the Security Council, in resolution 1490(2003), secured an agreement with important provincial noted that UNIKOM had successfully fulfilled its governors and commanders that called for the mandate from 1991 to 2003 and extended it for a centralization of customs revenues and prohib- final period of three months. The Mission’s re- ited provincial leaders from simultaneously maining personnel are preparing for the liquida- holding civil and military positions, but those tion of UNIKOM and transferring many of its re- commitments have been only partially imple- movable assets to other missions. mented. The Transitional Administration has

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 12 Report of the Secretary-General placed security sector reform at the centre of its ditions for minority return and to resolve prop- agenda. This includes the reform of the Ministry erty right claims by displaced persons. UNMIK of Defence to make it nationally representative, continued to seek the resolution of issues that as a precondition for the implementation of the need to be addressed with authorities in Bel- disarmament, demobilization and reintegration grade and encouraged a direct dialogue on prac- plan. The signing of a declaration on good- tical matters between Belgrade and Pristina. neighbourly relations by Afghanistan and neigh- 52. The United Nations Mission in Bosnia bouring States on 22 December 2002 was a fur- and Herzegovina successfully completed its work ther step towards the objective of consolidating in December 2002, having established State-level stability and security in the region. law enforcement institutions and transformed a 50. The United Nations Observer Mission in 40,000 strong wartime militia into a 16,000 Georgia (UNOMIG) continued to monitor compli- strong professional police force. Remaining re- ance with the ceasefire agreement of 1994. The sponsibilities relating to the reform of the police Group of Friends, under the chairmanship of the were transferred to the European Union Police United Nations, met at Geneva in February and Mission. The United Nations Mission of Observ- July 2003, to review progress towards a compre- ers in Prevlaka also completed its tasks in Decem- hensive settlement and to consider options for ber 2002, having helped to shield this strategi- taking the peace process forward. The Georgian cally important area from the fighting in the and Abkhaz sides took part in the second meet- region and to create the space for a political solu- ing. My Special Representative, with the support tion to the dispute. of the Group of Friends, remained in close con- 53. Building on last year’s efforts to enhance tact with the parties to build on the momentum the strategic deployment stocks at Brindisi, the generated by those two meetings, as well as the Secretariat this year improved its capacity to de- meeting of President Putin and President ploy staff with the development of a rapid de- Shevardnadze in March 2003, particularly in the ployment roster for civilian personnel. The areas of economic cooperation and the return of Civilian Police Division of the Department of refugees and internally displaced persons. My Peacekeeping Operations also established a 100- Special Representative also supported efforts to person roster of dedicated professionals available build confidence and advance towards a compre- at short notice. I am most grateful for the co- hensive settlement of the conflict, on the basis of operation of Member States in this regard. Fur- the paper entitled “Basic Principles for the Distri- thermore, the Division, in collaboration with bution of Competencies between Tbilisi and Su- other United Nations entities, enhanced its khumi” and its letter of transmittal. I remain con- capacity to address policing, judicial and correc- cerned about security in the Kodori Valley,where tions matters by establishing a Criminal Law and four UNOMIG personnel were held hostage for six Judicial Advisory Unit early in 2003. days in June 2003, the sixth such incident since the establishment of the Mission in 1993. None of The United Nations and regional organizations the perpetrators of those acts, or those responsi- 54. The United Nations continues to work ble for shooting down a helicopter in 2001, have with and rely on regional organizations for the ever been identified and brought to justice. advancement of common goals such as interna- 51. The United Nations Interim Adminis- tional peace and security, development and re- tration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) continued to spect for human rights. The biennial high-level support the establishment of democratic provi- meetings of the United Nations and regional or- sional institutions of self-government, as fore- ganizations, a forum inaugurated in 1994, have seen by the Constitutional Framework for Provi- been instrumental in strengthening cooperation, sional Self-Government in Kosovo. The gradual especially in the areas of conflict prevention and transfer of the non-reserved responsibilities peace-building. In the light of the increasing listed in chapter 5 of the Constitutional Frame- need for a joint response to challenges to peace work from UNMIK to the provisional institutions and security around the world, I convened the continued, at a pace that took into account the fifth high-level meeting in July 2003, on the capacity of those institutions to assume such re- theme “New challenges to peace and security, in- sponsibilities. The overall authority of UNMIK cluding international terrorism”. The conclu- and the reserved responsibilities listed in chap- sions of the meeting, which I intend to make ter 8 of the Constitutional Framework will not be available for wider distribution, confirmed the transferred. The Mission, with support from keen interest of the participants in jointly con- UNDP, maintained efforts to combat organized fronting the new challenges and in meeting more crime and to create the basis for a viable market frequently to develop common strategies and economy. It also increased its efforts to foster con- policies.

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55. During the period under review, the operation between the United Nations and the United Nations forged a number of innovative Pacific Islands Forum. partnerships with regional organizations. For example, as mentioned earlier, the European Electoral assistance Union and the United Nations recently com- 58. Electoral assistance is seen by the United bined their efforts in the Democratic Republic of Nations as a tool for conflict prevention. A timely the Congo, where a European Union force was and well-executed electoral process which is deployed in June 2003 under the authority of the transparent and inclusive can prevent an increase Security Council to keep the peace in the Ituri re- in tension and violence that could otherwise re- gion. Similarly, in Afghanistan, the North Atlan- sult from dissatisfaction in the face of real or per- tic Treaty Organization agreed to assume, in Au- ceived electoral irregularities. For example, in gust 2003, the leadership of the International response to a request from the Palestinian Au- Security Assistance Force operating under a thority, the United Nations deployed two elec- Security Council mandate. In the area of devel- toral teams to help establish the Palestinian opment, the signature in April 2003 of a Frame- Central Electoral Commission and to prepare for work Agreement with the European Commission a voter registration exercise. It did so to enable makes it easier for the United Nations to access the Commission to adequately carry out trans- Commission funds in the joint pursuit of the Mil- parent and efficient elections or a referendum lennium Development Goals. when called upon to do so under the road map. 56. The United Nations also continued to co- This is to ensure that the peace process would not operate closely with the African Union and sub- lose momentum for lack of a credible voters reg- regional organizations in Africa to assist in the ister or because of an inadequately prepared management and resolution of conflicts. The Af- Electoral Commission. Moreover, a senior elec- rican Chiefs of Defence Staff and the Union’s Ex- toral adviser was put in place to counsel the ecutive Council, assisted by the United Nations, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Mid- adopted a number of proposals to enhance Af- dle East Peace Process on the impact of the elec- rica’s peacekeeping capacity. In addition, my toral process on the implementation of the road Special Representative for West Africa, with the map. support of United Nations agencies and the Sec- 59. The limited capacity of the Jamaican au- retariat, worked closely with ECOWAS to develop thorities to properly respond to electoral com- an integrated subregional approach to address plaints had given rise to violence in previous elec- the challenges facing West African States. At tions in Jamaica. To meet the Government’s the Security Council’s request, I sent a multi- request for assistance in preventing a repetition disciplinary assessment mission to Central Africa of violent incidents during the new electoral pe- in June 2003 to seek ways for the United Nations riod, the United Nations focused on enhancing to enhance its cooperation with subregional in- the legal and investigative capacities of the Jamai- stitutions towards achieving sustainable peace. A can electoral authorities and Jamaica’s Political representative of ECOWAS joined the mission. For Ombudsperson, so as to enable them to deal with its part, UNDP has been developing a comprehen- electoral appeals and complaints. While the im- sive programme of support for the African pact of this assistance is difficult to quantify, no Union in building its capacity for conflict man- deaths were attributed to the parliamentary elec- agement. tions held late in 2002. 57. In Asia, I welcome the increasing contacts 60. From September 2002 to July 2003, the and cooperation between the secretariats of the United Nations received 32 official requests for United Nations and the Association of South- electoral assistance. Positive responses were pro- East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on matters relating vided to 20 of those requests, nine remain under to regional peace and security. In February 2003, consideration and three could not be fulfilled. the third regional workshop on conflict preven- tion, conflict resolution and peace-building in Terrorism South-East Asia was held in Singapore, focusing 61. Terrorism continues to pose a major threat on ASEAN and United Nations experiences in to international peace and security. The anticipating and mediating conflicts. In Latin Counter-Terrorism Committee, established pur- America, I have welcomed and supported, since suant to Security Council resolution 1373(2001), their inception, the tireless mediation efforts continued to review reports from Member States launched by the Secretary-General of the Organ- on the implementation of relevant measures to ization of American States, concerning the situa- suppress and prevent terrorism. It also continued tion in Venezuela and that in Haiti. In the Pacific to facilitate the provision to States of the assist- region, I am pleased to note the increased co- ance they required to comply with their obliga-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 14 Report of the Secretary-General tions under resolution 1373(2001). The United must be allowed to play its mandated role as the Nations Office on Drugs and Crime launched, in sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body. October 2002, the Global Programme against 65. Developments in 2003 heightened the Terrorism, as a framework for its operational ac- concern of the world community that nuclear, bi- tivities in this field, and obtained the approval of ological or chemical weapons might be used by the General Assembly to strengthen the Terror- State or non-State actors. Universal adherence to, ism Prevention Branch of the Centre for Interna- and full and effective compliance with, negoti- tional Crime Prevention. The Department of ated multilateral agreements are powerful tools Public Information will ensure that the Organi- in the battle against the use and proliferation zation’s principled positions and activities relat- of such weapons. The danger that weapons of ing to terrorism obtain broad coverage. mass destruction might fall into the hands of ter- 62. Countering the financing of terrorism rorists has been a major global concern. Con- has become a principal area of focus for the inter- certed efforts to promote disarmament, non- national community. Assistance to Governments proliferation and the security of weapon-related in identifying, tracing and seizing illicit assets in- materials are essential for preventing terrorists creases the ability of States to confront both con- from obtaining such weapons. ventional criminality and terrorism. Assistance provided in this area by the Office on Drugs and 66. I welcomed the entry into force of the Crime includes legislative drafting and capacity- Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reduc- building for investigators, prosecutors and the fi- tions between the Russian Federation and the nancial sector, as well as the establishment and United States of America in June 2003. Further strengthening of financial intelligence units— steps to make reductions in strategic nuclear which together form the basis for targeting weapons irreversible, transparent and verifiable money-laundering and terrorist financing. would greatly strengthen international peace and 63. While we are vigorously pursuing the security. At the second session of the Preparatory struggle against terrorism, it is important to Committee for the 2005 Review Conference of make sure that the dignity of individuals and the Parties to the Treatyon the Non-Proliferation their fundamental freedoms, as well as demo- of Nuclear Weapons, States parties reaffirmed cratic practices and the due process of law, are not that the Treaty remained the cornerstone of the trampled on. To this end, the Office of the global non-proliferation regime and the essential United Nations High Commissioner for Human foundation for nuclear disarmament. Neverthe- Rights continues to emphasize the importance of less, the decision of the Democratic People’s Re- respecting human rights in the context of public of Korea to withdraw from the Treaty, the counter-terrorism efforts and has strengthened first such decision since the Treaty’s entry into contacts between the United Nations human force 33 years ago, particularly undermined con- rights bodies and the Counter-Terrorism Com- fidence in its effective implementation. While mittee. In my public pronouncements, I have there has been a marked increase in adherence to consistently stressed that there is no trade-off be- the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, tween human rights and security: respecting hu- further efforts are needed to ensure that that man rights must be a fundamental element in the Treaty enters into force. fight against terrorism. Promoting values of tol- 67. The First Biennial Meeting of States to erance and the dialogue among civilizations is Consider the Implementation of the Programme also of paramount importance. of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Tradein Small Arms and Light Weapons in Disarmament All Its Aspects was held in New York in July 2003. 64. The year 2003 marks the twenty-fifth an- After just two years of activity, 99 States were able niversary of the convening of the first special ses- to present national status reports. I am encour- sion of the General Assembly devoted to disarma- aged by the many initiatives being taken at the na- ment. Yet the body of multilateral disarmament tional, regional and international levels to stem norms has been slowly eroded as a result of weak- the illicit trade in these weapons. The Meeting ened international commitment, while the struc- confirmed the need for partnerships at all of tures set up to deliberate and negotiate further those levels, including with civil society, to assist measures remain at a standstill. I am particularly States in implementing the Programme of Action concerned with the prolonged stalemate in the adopted in 2001. The United Nations will con- Conference on Disarmament. Lack of agreement tinue to do its part to encourage and assist States on its programme of work has again blocked sub- in their efforts to mitigate the impact on security, stantive work, even on issues where there is con- development and human rights of the illicit trade sensus to begin negotiations. The Conference in small arms and light weapons.

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Sanctions eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and 68. Sanctions remain an important tool in Liberia have exacerbated the already devastating promoting and maintaining international peace human suffering in those areas. Protracted con- and security. Their frequent use in the late 1990s flicts in Colombia and the Occupied Palestinian has, however, raised concerns about their effect Territory continue to give rise to grave concern. on civilian populations and their consequences Numerous natural disasters have caused much for the humanitarian situation in the targeted suffering and loss of life, and in some places have country or region. I have been encouraged by wreaked havoc on populations already ravaged by progress during the period under review towards war or infectious diseases such as malaria, tuber- refining international sanctions so that they max- culosis and, especially, HIV/AIDS. imize pressure on the intended targets while min- 71. The United Nations system has sought to imizing adverse effects on the general population respond to the numerous humanitarian crises and third States. The Security Council now fre- both equitably and efficiently, placing the princi- quently requests assessment reports on the hu- ples of humanity, neutrality and impartiality manitarian implications of current and possible at the core of its efforts. Significant energies future sanction regimes. The Office for the Co- have been expended over the year in ensuring a ordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secre- more coherent and strategically coordinated hu- tariat has been mandated to carry out such assess- manitarian response, through further strength- ments. In addition to the establishment of panels ening the consolidated appeals process and of experts and monitoring mechanisms, im- partnerships with recipient countries, non- proved implementation of targeted sanctions governmental organizations and other interna- also requires regular, accurate and transparent tional institutions. reporting by States. Such reporting helps sanc- tions committees to gauge the level of compliance The challenge of protecting and and is useful in identifying technical assistance assisting refugees and displaced populations required by States to improve implementation. I 72. Over the past year nascent peace processes was pleased to note that some of the findings in several previously war-torn countries have cre- from the Stockholm Process on the Implementa- ated opportunities to improve substantially the tion of Targeted Sanctions were reflected in the lives of many returning refugees and internally enhanced reporting requirements contained in displaced persons. In Afghanistan, over 2 mil- Security Council resolution 1455(2003). I wish to lion refugees and 750,000 internally displaced encourage further expert discussions on the po- persons returned home following the fall of the tential use of targeted measures to prevent or Taliban regime. In Angola, almost 130,000 refu- contain conflict. gees repatriated spontaneously from neighbour- 69. Sanctions were reinforced or expanded ing countries and more than a million internally against Somalia and Liberia and members of the displaced persons returned to their villages. In Taliban and Al-Qa’idah. The Security Council Sierra Leone, some 75,000 refugees returned to lifted sanctions against UNITA, in view of the end their homes from Guinea and Liberia and nearly of the war in Angola and the transformation of the entire population of internally displaced per- UNITA into a political party, and decided not to sons was returned or resettled by December 2002. renew prohibitions against the import of rough In Sri Lanka, some 240,000 uprooted people re- diamonds from Sierra Leone, given that Govern- turned to their home areas following the begin- ment’s full participation in the Kimberley Pro- ning of peace negotiations. The majority of the cess. The Council also terminated all prohibi- 170,000 persons from the former Yugoslav Re- tions relating to trade with Iraq, except with public of Macedonia who had fled their homes in regard to the supply of arms. 2001 were able to return, signifying the end of the emergency. 73. Tragically, millions of refugees around Chapter II the world remain affected by vicious cycles of conflict and upheaval, with little hope for return. Meeting humanitarian commitments In Africa alone, there were over 3 million persons 70. There have been significant improve- in such “protracted” refugee situations, includ- ments and disturbing setbacks in humanitarian ing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, affairs over the past year. While long-standing Eritrea, Somalia and the Sudan. In Western Sa- conflicts in Angola, Sierra Leone and the Sudan hara, around 165,000 refugees continued to lan- appear to be moving towards resolution, thus eas- guish in camps more than a quarter of a century ing the humanitarian situation in those coun- since the dispute began, still waiting for a politi- tries, outbreaks of fighting in Côte d’Ivoire, the cal solution. Despite progress made in Afghani-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 16 Report of the Secretary-General stan, over 1.1 million Afghan refugees remained tained its focus on providing support to specific in the Islamic Republic of Iran and 1.2 million in internal displacement crises, while promoting Pakistan. Overall, the global number of refugees United Nations system-wide improvements in was estimated in early 2003 to be some 10.3 mil- dealing with such crises. Trainingworkshops and lion persons, a decrease of 1.7 million, or 14 per expert advice and guidance provided by the Unit, cent, compared with one year earlier. The total in collaboration with other humanitarian part- population of concern to the Office of the ners, have for example led to the expression of in- United Nations High Commissioner for Refu- terest on the part of the authorities of the Sudan gees, including refugees, asylum seekers and in- in developing a national policy on internally ternally displaced persons, as well as those who displaced people. returned during the year, increased slightly,from 75. The return of refugees and displaced 19.8 million in early 2002 to some 20.5 million in populations presents enormous challenges. early 2003. Whereas many refugees were able to Achieving sustainable solutions entails the ardu- return home, almost 300,000 additional persons ous task of rebuilding shattered economies and were forced to flee their homes and became refu- finding gainful employment for populations gees in 2002, mainly from Burundi (29,000), the who have known little but war. One approach, re- Democratic Republic of the Congo (39,000) and ferred to as the “4 Rs” (repatriation, reintegra- Liberia (105,000). The largest refugee outflows tion, rehabilitation and reconstruction), brings occurred in Africa. In West Africa, the conflicts humanitarian and development actors together in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia led to tragic displace- in the context of post-conflict situations. In Si- ments across the entire subregion and sparked in- erra Leone and Sri Lanka, UNHCR and UNDP stability in neighbouring countries, while also have been working to effectively target develop- jeopardizing efforts at consolidating stability in ment and reintegration assistance to areas with Sierra Leone. high numbers of returnees. Special “4R” collabo- 74. Although States have the primary respon- ration is under way in Afghanistan and Eritrea as sibility for the well-being of their citizens, well. A United Nations University study empha- UNHCR has in recent years become more engaged sizes that the management of refugee movements in responding to situations where the protection and protection of displaced people should be an needs of internally displaced persons mirror integral part of conflict settlement, peace- those of refugees. Over 6 million internally dis- building and regional security. placed persons continue to endure suffering and 76. In developing countries that host refu- abuse in Burundi, Colombia and the Sudan. In gees, lack of security has remained a major prob- the Democratic Republic of the Congo, optimism lem. Refugee camps and settlements have been over successful peace negotiations was tempered infiltrated by armed elements. The forced re- by continuing bloodshed and displacement, in cruitment of refugees, especially children—in- particular in the Ituri region. In Indonesia, the cluding those previously demobilized—by both resumption of a military offensive against the government forces and rebel groups have also separatist movement in Aceh also led to the dis- been of major concern. Such problems were par- placement of thousands of people. There are ticularly prevalent in the West Africa region over currently some 370,000 internally displaced per- the past year. In Guinea, UNHCR was forced to sons in the Russian Federation. The work of my move some 33,000 refugees from a camp near the Representative on Internally Displaced Persons Liberian border to a safer location some 250 has contributed significantly to gaining interna- miles away, following repeated raids by Liberian tional attention and enhancing the response to armed groups. the problem of internal displacement. The Guid- 77. The Office of the United Nations High ing Principles on Internal Displacement, which Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF and part- were developed by my Representative and a team ner agencies have committed considerable re- of legal experts, provide guidance to all perti- sources over the year to improving the protection nent actors and set forth the rights and guaran- of refugee women and children. Girls and tees applicable in all relevant phases, that is, dur- women have been routinely targeted by cam- ing displacement, return, resettlement and paigns of gender-based violence, including rape, reintegration. The Guiding Principles have in- mutilation, prostitution, forced pregnancy and creasingly been taken into account in the work of sexual slavery. In response to incidents of sexual regional organizations and have been of assist- and gender-based violence in refugee camps, a ance in the drafting of legislation on internal dis- series of preventive and remedial measures were placement in a number of countries. The Inter- put in place, including investigation systems, re- nal Displacement Unit of the Office for the course mechanisms and programmes of victim Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has main- support. In Guinea, UNHCR and its non-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 17 governmental organization partners promoted and its partners. During the reporting period, the establishment of refugee associations in the United Nations and its partners produced 27 camps to enhance prevention of and response to consolidated appeals for humanitarian assist- sexual and gender-based violence. In Sierra Le- ance, requesting a total of $5.8 billion from the one, a sensitization campaign was undertaken by international community. The overall response UNICEF in all camps, in the communities sur- to those appeals as at 21 July 2003 stood at 52 per rounding the camps and in four interim care cen- cent. With the funds made available, even if not tres. Other measures taken in Sierra Leone in- at the desired level, the United Nations was able cluded development of a community monitoring to provide food, shelter, medicine and other life- system and complaints mechanism in the camps, saving assistance to 45 million victims of conflict, training of humanitarian workers on sexual drought and other emergencies. abuse and exploitation and training for police in 80. The donor community has generously interviewing in cases of sexual abuse, sexual ex- supported WFP humanitarian operations, pro- ploitation and domestic violence. UNICEF, the viding almost $1.8 billion over the course of World Food Programme (WFP) and non- 2002. However, not all WFP operations were fully governmental organization partners have jointly funded and the significant shortfalls compro- spearheaded training of United Nations and mised assistance efforts in places such as Colom- non-governmental organization staff and part- bia, Eritrea, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, ners in preventing and responding to sexual ex- the Sudan and Tajikistan. In addition, the bene- ploitation in six countries in Southern Africa. fits of food aid can only be fully realized when 78. The period under review has seen new combined with other programmes. Adequate challenges to the protection of refugees, many of funding for non-food assistance is therefore criti- them linked to broader developments in the in- cal to ensuring the success of humanitarian ternational arena. Security concerns have led to action. Such non-food assistance must include new and stringent checks by States at entry points support for the restoration of livelihoods, includ- to their territories, making it increasingly diffi- ing in sectors such as agriculture. Underfunding cult for asylum-seekers to gain access to asylum of the emergency and early rehabilitation activi- procedures. Many Governments seem to be suc- ties of the Food and Agriculture Organization of cumbing to the temptation of applying discrimi- the United Nations (FAO) jeopardized its ability natory measures in order to limit the admission to assist displaced or other disaster-affected per- of all potential immigrants, including asylum- sons in recovering their productive capacity. seekers. Cases of arbitrary detention have also be- 81. Health sector programmes in the consoli- come commonplace in some countries. As a re- dated appeals remained chronically under- sult, public support for the asylum process has resourced, receiving on average only 10 per cent been undermined and refugees have faced un- of the resources requested. Nevertheless, the fair suspicion, prejudice and xenophobia. Recog- World Health Organization (WHO) worked to nizing that States have legitimate security con- fight a malaria epidemic, meningitis and cholera cerns linked to the asylum-migration nexus, in Burundi, helped manage a yellow fever epi- UNHCR has been exploring ways to work with demic in Guinea and was able to respond to an Governments on those issues. The year 2002 wit- outbreak of Lassa fever in the refugee camps in nessed the completion of the Global Consulta- Sierra Leone within 48 hours. The severe acute tions on International Protection, involving respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first new States, intergovernmental organizations, non- disease to emerge in the twenty-first century. governmental organizations, academics, legal When it was first identified by WHO, in February practitioners and refugees. As a result of that 2003, it was apparent that the disease spread rap- process, an Agenda for Protection was adopted, idly within hospitals and was being transported reflecting a renewed commitment to address by aircraft, that no therapy was effective and that gaps in international protection. UNHCR, as part SARS could inflict enormous damage to econo- of its commitment to the process, launched the mies. WHO coordinated global action to identify Convention Plus initiative, the purpose of which the cause of SARS, control outbreaks and prevent is to develop special arrangements that promote the disease from becoming established as it durable solutions and fairer burden-sharing. moved from country to country. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was able to Delivering humanitarian assistance and provide basic maternity care and HIV prevention the challenge of underfunded emergencies for internally displaced people and refugees in 79. As I mentioned earlier, the consolidated a dozen countries. However, because donor appeals process continued to be strengthened as a support for these reproductive health needs was strategic planning tool for the United Nations insufficient and, moreover, concentrated on a

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 18 Report of the Secretary-General few highly visible emergencies, assistance for 85. The past year saw a number of important many populations facing conflict was inade- achievements in Afghanistan, allowing for sig- quate. Adequate attention to health is crucial in nificant economic progress to take place. Higher dealing with humanitarian emergencies and re- rainfall in some parts of the country and heavy quires coordinated action and timely provision of snowfall resulted in improved harvests, with the necessary funds by the donors. more people now being able to meet their basic 82. Underfunding has a particularly direct food needs. Significant numbers of Afghans, es- impact on the lives of children and women. For pecially women and children, however, remained example, low funding over the past year meant vulnerable and continued to rely on food aid. In that UNICEF work to provide emergency health 2002, WFP fed over 323,700 children in Afghani- assistance in the Republic of the Congo had to fo- stan through the back-to-school programme, cus on high-risk areas and not the entire country. supported the return and resettlement of Whereas 1.2 million children should have been 330,000 families and helped to strengthen the vaccinated against measles, only 200,000 were civil service through the provision of salary sup- covered, given the low level of resources received. plements to 251,000 civil servants. Despite In education, of the 1,700 schools that needed to marked improvement, however, security contin- be re-equipped, only 120 could be covered. In the ues to be a major constraint on humanitarian Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, only lim- action in Afghanistan. ited types of medicine could be made available, 86. In the Democratic People’s Republic of mainly for the treatment of childhood illnesses. Korea, a government assessment of the nutri- 83. The general shortfall in resources experi- tional status of children made in collaboration enced by UNHCR over the year has continued to with UNICEF and WFP indicated a significant im- impede efforts to provide much needed protec- provement between 1998 and 2002. Food assist- tion and material assistance, in particular in sub- ance had contributed directly to improving the Saharan Africa. At the end of 2002, its overall nutritional status of vulnerable groups, though budget of $829 million was underfunded by the needs of those groups remained high. The some $100 million, which has led in many cases to situation could deteriorate again. WFP was forced the scaling back of already reduced assistance to suspend distributions to 3 million beneficia- and services to more than 4 million refugees and ries as a result of funding shortages at the end of other people of concern to UNHCR, especially in 2002. Africa, where the needs are the greatest. 87. In Angola, the end of the conflict in April 84. Though funding constraints limited the 2002 led to the mass return of internally dis- scale of their operations, WHO, UNICEF and their placed persons and refugees and the opening up non-governmental partners carried out measles of previously inaccessible areas. The Govern- and vitamin A campaigns in Afghanistan, An- ment estimates that 2.3 million internally dis- gola, Burundi, Somalia and elsewhere. Between placed persons have returned to their homes, January 2002 and June 2003, 15.3 million chil- while another 1.4 million remain displaced. WFP dren between six months and 12 years of age were has been able to increase the number of people it vaccinated against measles and received vitamin assists by over 80 per cent, substantially support- A supplements in Afghanistan (93 per cent cov- ing the consolidation of the newly realized peace, erage), preventing an estimated 35,000 child and UNICEF has expanded school access. deaths. In Angola, between September 2002 and 88. The humanitarian situation continued to June 2003, 7.2 million children between nine worsen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, months and 14 years of age were vaccinated in particular its eastern region. Access to the against measles and received vitamin A supple- most vulnerable remained the main challenge, ments (95 per cent coverage), averting an esti- driven by lack of security, harassment by the con- mated 10,000 child deaths. United Nations bod- flicting parties and poor infrastructure. Violence ies and their partners also organized successful against civilians was rampant, in particular sex- national immunization days for the eradication ual violence against women and girls. UNICEF, of polio in Afghanistan, Liberia, Somalia and the together with non-governmental organization Sudan. Between September 2002 and May 2003, partners, provided psychological assistance to 34 million doses of oral polio vaccine were ad- almost 1,000 women survivors of sexual violence ministered to 6.5 million children under five in South Kivu and strengthened community years of age in Afghanistan, through different support networks. UNFPA worked to sensitize mi- rounds of national and subnational immuniza- litary and police leaders to the need to prevent tion days. It is encouraging to note that there has gender violence. been only one reported case of polio to date this 89. In Eritrea and Ethiopia, drought has year in Afghanistan. again sharply increased the number of people in

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 19 need of relief assistance. Such assistance is neces- a worrisome trend, both the escalation of the con- sary to save lives, prevent mass migration and pre- flict in Liberia and renewed fighting in Côte serve the assets of farmers and pastoralists. In re- d’Ivoire were marked by a blatant disregard for sponse to the increasingly alarming situation, in the protection of civilians, increase in recruit- June 2003 I appointed a Special Envoy for the ment and use of children in armed conflict and Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa, who contempt for humanitarian work. In an environ- visited Eritrea and Ethiopia in July 2003. While ment without law and order, humanitarian persisting drought conditions and their long- efforts have proved extremely difficult, especially term effects continued to increase the number of in Liberia, where the escalation of the country’s people in need of humanitarian assistance in civil war in March 2003 resulted in a humanita- both countries, Ethiopia has been particularly rian crisis of immense proportions. Sustained hard hit. Despite generous donor support, which combat in the capital city of Monrovia led to a secured almost 100 per cent of funding require- complete breakdown of law and order, the dis- ments of the consolidated inter-agency appeal placement of about 50 per cent of the city’s popu- for Ethiopia for 2003, malnutrition levels in lation and the evacuation of all United Nations many areas of the country continued to increase international personnel. The arrival of peace- and, by July 2003, it was determined that an addi- keepers in August 2003, as well as the transitional tional 2.3 million people would require assist- political arrangements, have provided a new op- ance until the end of the year, thus bringing the portunity for humanitarian agencies to assess the total number of beneficiaries to over 13.1 million. situation and resume relief operations for the 90. The humanitarian crisis in Southern Af- most vulnerable groups. On 6 August 2003, the rica threatens to be one of the most severe and United Nations launched a revised consolidated complex humanitarian disasters of the last dec- inter-agency appeal for Liberia, requesting ade, the result of a combination of erratic rain- $69 million to respond to the increased humani- fall, poverty, economic decline, inadequate food tarian needs. Efforts are under way to strengthen security policies and high rates of HIV/AIDS in- the overall capacity of the humanitarian com- fection. During 2002, the number of people at munity to deal effectively with the situation. risk of severe food insecurity rose from 12.8 mil- 93. In Iraq, the Office for the Coordination of lion to 14.4 million. Generous donor support en- Humanitarian Affairs played a key role in the es- abled WFP to mobilize capacity rapidly to help tablishment and maintenance of humanitarian millions of people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozam- coordination mechanisms both prior to and after bique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. United the onset of the war in March 2003, at the field Nations entities have been working together in and headquarters levels. WFP succeeded in dis- the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination and patching over 1.13 million tons of food commodi- Support Office to raise awareness and emphasize ties into Iraq between April and June 2003. WFP the need to move beyond the traditional emer- also managed a United Nations joint logistics gency response in order to find durable solu- centre for the Iraq crisis, coordinating the logis- tions. tics capabilities of humanitarian agencies, and 91. My Special Envoy for Humanitarian provided common airlift services for the relief Needs in Southern Africa has played an impor- operation by managing the United Nations hu- tant role in raising donor awareness to the unique manitarian air service. WHO led efforts in the nature of the crisis, the first major emergency in health sector through the supply of badly needed which high rates of HIV/AIDS infection have drugs and other medical items, public health played a significant role in exacerbating food in- programmes and rehabilitation of health facili- security and malnutrition. The HIV/AIDS epi- ties. UNICEF led the United Nations emergency demic has introduced a new complexity into hu- efforts in the provision of non-food assistance, manitarian crises, which requires rethinking of including critical supplies for child survival, humanitarian assistance. The lessons learned supplemental nutrition and basic education ma- from the regional response indicate not only that terials, as well as in the provision of emergency methods for food security analysis, food rations water supplies, in collaboration with non- and/or nutrition-related activities should be ad- governmental organization partners. UNDP in- justed, but also that such efforts need to be com- stalled generators and rehabilitated electricity bined with emergency development action in the facilities that provided power supply for the oper- social and health sectors. ation of hospitals, water-pumping stations and 92. Old and new conflicts in West Africa put sewage-treatment plants. considerable strain on humanitarian interven- 94. The oil-for-food programme, adminis- tion efforts during the past year and endangered tered by the Office of the Iraq Programme, has the stability of fragile neighbouring countries. In continued to deliver supplies to meet the basic

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 20 Report of the Secretary-General humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. Prior to funding against an appeal for $94 million to the war, the programme, among other achieve- cover emergency operations between January ments, had succeeded in reducing by half mal- and July 2003. Despite a $37.5 million shortfall in nutrition rates among children under the age of its 2003 regular budget as at 30 June, UNRWA con- five. In its resolution 1483(2003), the Security tinued to deliver regular education, health and Council stipulated that the programme should relief and social services to a population of over be phased out by 21 November 2003. Until that 4 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jor- time, the United Nations and its entities and pro- dan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the grammes, in coordination with the Coalition Pro- West Bank and the Gaza Strip. WHO played a key visional Authority and the emerging Iraqi au- role in coordinating the health sector and in pro- thorities, will continue to review and prioritize viding technical assistance in key domains, such contracts, as well as facilitate the shipment of as nutrition and mental health. It also advocated civilian goods to Iraq from a delivery pipeline val- for access and the right to health of the Palestin- ued at some $10 billion. Separately, on 28 March ian population. The UNDP Programme of Assist- 2003, the United Nations launched a flash ap- ance to the Palestinian People provided some peal for dealing with the Iraq crisis, seeking $2.2 emergency assistance, in addition to major em- billion. The flash appeal was revised in June ployment and technical assistance. 2003, when outstanding requirements of $259 million were presented, reflecting resources al- Natural disaster management: responding ready made available by donors and through the to emergencies and building capacity oil-for-food programme, as well as new priorities 97. Severe floods recurred across Asia be- that emerged after the end of major hostilities. tween September and November 2002. Serious 95. The United Nations Development Group damage was caused by cyclones in the Pacific re- has been working, in collaboration with the Of- gion in January 2003. In May 2003, earthquakes fice of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, occurred in Algeria and Turkey and torrential the World Bank and the International Monetary rains led to the most serious flooding and land- Fund, under the overall coordination of my Spe- slides in Sri Lanka since 1947. Severe and contin- cial Representative for Iraq, to identify priorities ual rainfall that began in late June 2003 has led to for Iraq’s reconstruction through a joint needs as- flooding in a number of provinces in China, af- sessment. That exercise is being carried out bear- fecting 130 million people and resulting in the ing in mind issues of gender, human rights, envi- evacuation of more than 3 million from their ronment and capacity-building. The United homes and the death of over 800 persons. Nations Development Group has also convened a Droughts continued to affect large parts of the donor liaison group, consisting of over 50 mem- population in African and Asian countries, com- bers who regularly share information on the pounding very challenging situations also associ- needs assessment process and on the donor con- ated with conflicts and lethal epidemics such as ference on the reconstruction of Iraq scheduled HIV/AIDS. From 1 September 2002 to 8 August for October 2003. 2003, the Office for the Coordination of Human- 96. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory,the itarian Affairs responded to 75 natural disasters, humanitarian situation has yet to show signs of mobilizing international assistance through ap- improvement following the parties’ embarking peals and situation reports, providing emer- on implementation of the Quartet’s road map in gency cash grants, channelling grants from do- June 2003. For most of the past year, the situation nor Governments and fielding United Nations has been increasingly desperate and the local disaster assessment and coordination missions. population has been facing unprecedented levels 98. The efforts of the United Nations to re- of hardship. Closures and curfews have crippled duce the impact of natural hazards through miti- the economy, plunging 1.3 million Palestinians gating vulnerability and disaster risks have been into poverty. Military operations have left over undermined by limited funding. Humanitarian 10,000 homeless. The United Nations Relief and donors shy away from channelling monies to ac- Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near tivities with a longer-term impact, while develop- East (UNRWA) has been delivering emergency as- ment donors have not yet fully assumed that re- sistance to over 1 million affected Palestinians, sponsibility. Nevertheless, advocacy efforts have including food aid, shelter reconstruction and ensured heightened awareness of the imperative employment creation. Heavy restrictions on to reduce risk and vulnerability to natural haz- movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territory ards and other technological and environmental have posed serious obstacles to the operations of disasters in order to achieve sustainable develop- UNRWA and other international agencies. At the ment. The International Strategy for Disaster same time, UNRWA received only $37.3 million in Reduction, coordinated by its secretariat, has

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 21 increasingly been utilized to guide commitment ful consequences of the commercial exploitation and action by United Nations entities, other in- of conflict; and (c) the escalating threat of global ternational and regional organizations and Gov- terrorism. ernments. The special emphasis on developing 102. The continuing challenge is to identify subregional and national plans in Africa has and utilize more effective means of implement- been further strengthened by the creation of an ing the principles and policies that are in place, to International Strategy for Disaster Reduction mainstream them into the humanitarian work of outreach programme for Africa and by activi- the United Nations system and to translate them ties undertaken jointly by the secretariat, UNDP, into specific measures in the field. Some impor- the United Nations Environment Programme tant steps have been taken in that regard. For ex- (UNEP) and others. Regional consultations have ample, United Nations entities in Afghanistan, been carried out in Asia, Europe and the South Burundi and Iraq have used the aide-memoire Pacific and are further planned in Africa and the formulated by the Security Council (S/PRST/ Americas. UNDP has contributed to increased 2002/6, annex) to put together an active collabo- capacity for disaster reduction in 33 countries rative framework for the protection of civilians worldwide, including early warning systems, that has led to a more coherent inter-agency re- strengthening of national disaster offices, risk re- sponse. In Iraq, human rights officers deployed duction tools and strategies, support to legislative with the Office of the Humanitarian Coordina- systems and strengthening knowledge networks. tor for Iraq developed a policy framework on hu- Other United Nations entities are also gradually man rights protection together with United developing substantive disaster reduction pro- Nations humanitarian bodies and other interna- grammes and activities within the framework of tional organizations to guide humanitarian as- the International Strategy. sistance. Human rights advisers led inter-agency technical working groups on protection-related Coordination of assistance and the issues in Côte d’Ivoire and Iraq. Another signifi- protection of civilians in armed conflict cant development has been the inclusion of pro- 99. Effective humanitarian responses require tection principles in the mandates of certain well-managed coordination and rapid resource peacekeeping missions, including the United mobilization. Working through the inter-agency Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic system, the Office for the Coordination of Hu- Republic of the Congo and the Economic Com- manitarian Affairs strives to ensure an adequate munity of West African States and French forces response to humanitarian crises by mobilizing re- in Côte d’Ivoire. sources, promoting access to vulnerable popula- 103. A series of regional workshops on issues tions and undertaking field coordination. Fur- of protection of civilians in armed conflict was thermore, the United Nations system as a whole launched in October 2002. Since that time, work- is committed to ensuring a smooth transition shops have been held in East Asia and the Pacific, from provision of humanitarian assistance to de- Europe, the South Pacific, Southern Africa and velopment activities in post-conflict situations. West Africa, with additional workshops planned 100. An example of an effective coordinated in the coming months in Latin America and approach to a humanitarian crisis was the exten- South Asia. The workshops aim to examine the sive inter-agency contingency preparations for nature of humanitarian challenges during com- the Iraq conflict. Well in advance of the outbreak plex emergencies within each region and to ex- of the war, a regional humanitarian coordination plore possible means of addressing such chal- office was established, from which the humanita- lenges from a regional perspective. All these rian response was planned and coordinated in activities are consistent with my call for a “culture close collaboration with non-governmental or- of protection” within the international com- ganizations. munity. The continued commitment of Member 101. There has been considerable activity on States to those issues will be vital in consolidating the part of the Organization over the past year to- the positive gains made through our collective wards mainstreaming protection issues into the efforts to date. policies and decision-making processes of Mem- 104. Child soldiers continue to be a tragic part ber States and the United Nations system at of many conflicts. For example, in northern large, including in the discussions of the Security Uganda, an estimated 8,400 children were ab- Council. In November 2002, in my third report to ducted between June 2002 and May 2003. This is the Security Council on the protection of civilians a sharp increase compared with the 12,000 regis- in armed conflict, I highlighted three emerging tered child abductions in the 11-year period from challenges: (a) gender-based violence in humani- 1990to 2001. Some progress has been made, how- tarian crises and conflict situations; (b) the harm- ever, in child soldier disarmament, demobiliza-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 22 Report of the Secretary-General tion and reintegration over the year. In Afghani- Organization is making every effort to ensure stan, UNICEF has been helping support a child- that those issues are addressed at the global, re- specific component as part of the Afghanistan gional and national levels. New Beginnings Programme, with the aim to dis- 108. In its follow-up to the International Con- arm, demobilize and reintegrate all under-age ference on Financing for Development, the Gen- soldiers by 2005. Under the leadership of the eral Assembly, at its fifty-seventh session, estab- World Bank, the Multi-Country Demobilization lished the high-level dialogue on financing for and Reintegration Programme in the greater development, as well as the Financing for Devel- Great Lakes region of Africa brings together opment Office in the Department of Economic Governments, United Nations entities, regional and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, which be- organizations and the international financial in- came operational in January 2003. The high- stitutions to facilitate the demobilization and re- level dialogue will serve as the intergovernmental integration of fighters in seven countries in the focal point for the general follow-up to the Con- subregion. Specific projects for demobilization, ference. The United Nations system, in coopera- disarmament and reintegration of child soldiers tion with other key stakeholders, including the in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Congo have been developed with UNICEF and are Organization (WTO), the private sector and civil about to be launched. society, will undertake activities to help acceler- ate the process of implementation of the Monterrey Consensus adopted by the Confer- Chapter III ence. Cooperating for development 109. As also envisaged in the Monterrey Con- sensus, the Economic and Social Council held the 105. Over the past year, the Organization sup- first of a new series of high-level meetings in ported Member States in their efforts to achieve April 2003 with the Bretton Woods institutions the Millennium Development Goals and ad- and WTO in which ministers of finance and de- dressed specific issues emerging from recent velopment cooperation, governors of central major United Nations conferences and summits. banks and senior officials from several interna- 106. I am pleased to report good progress in tional organizations participated. The outcome response to the guidance provided by Member of the meeting, embodied in the summary by the States and in line with my vision for reform of the President of the Council (A/58/77-E/2003/62), United Nations. The United Nations system, in- included a number of recommendations to ad- cluding the specialized agencies, has continued vance the implementation of the policy commit- to strive to achieve greater coherence in their pol- ments in the Monterrey Consensus and to facili- icies and programmes with a view to improving tate the discussion process in the high-level the efficiency and impact of the support they dialogue, the first biennial meeting of which is to provide at the country level. be held by the General Assembly in October 2003. Eradicating extreme poverty 110. Economic growth is essential to meet the 107. Extreme poverty is a multidimensional Millennium Development Goals, in particular phenomenon with varied causes, including in- the first goal of eradicating extreme poverty. In sufficient economic growth and investment, its Human Development Report 2003: Millennium persistent societal inequalities, inadequate social Development Goals, UNDP estimates that an annual safety nets, a lack of investment in education and GDP growth of 2.9 per cent per year is required health and a shortage of development finance, as between now and 2015 to reach the Millennium well as prevailing international financial and Development Goals—about double the present trade relations that leave lower-income countries level. This will not be achieved without concur- at a disadvantage. To enhance the process of de- rent growth in the domestic private sector, the velopment, the following elements are critical: key engine of economic growth and employment new and increased financing for development; generation. cooperation from the private sector; a successful 111. As a follow-up to the International Con- development round of trade negotiations; the al- ference on Financing for Development and the leviation of urban and rural poverty; secure ac- World Summit on Sustainable Development and cess to food, good health and education; im- as called for by the General Assembly in its reso- proved governance; opportunities for women lution 57/265, I launched, in July 2003, in New living in poverty; and use of new technologies York, the Commission on the Private Sector and such as information and communications tech- Development. The main purpose of the Commis- nologies for poverty eradication purposes. The sion, which is composed of prominent leaders

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 23 from business, the public sector, academia and cent of the population of low- to middle-income civil society, is to develop strategic recommenda- countries live in rural areas and depend on agri- tions on how to promote a strong, indigenous culture for their livelihood. Poverty reduction private sector in developing countries and to ini- strategies need to take account of both groups in tiate programmes with the highest potential im- terms of their particular needs. During 2002, pact in private sector development. The Commis- Governments launched the Global Campaign for sion will submit a report to me by the end of 2003 Secure Tenure in collaboration with the United with specific policy recommendations for devel- Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN- oping and developed countries, as well as multi- Habitat) in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Nica- lateral development agencies. The Commission ragua, the Philippines and Senegal. The Global will seek to highlight successful initiatives al- Campaign on Urban Governance was launched ready under way in the field of private sector de- in Jamaica and the Philippines, where UNDP has velopment. Its overall recommendations will also supported civic dialogue on critical development be forwarded for consideration to heads of na- questions. The preparations for and launch and tional and multilateral development agencies, as follow-up of both campaigns have increased pop- well as to leaders in the private sector. ular awareness of the issues and led to partner- 112. Increased and more equitable world ships between civil society and Governments on trade holds forth the prospect of helping nations those issues, leading in many cases to immediate to combat poverty and hunger and achieve the specific policy and legislative outcomes. For ex- Millennium Development Goals, including ample, the Global Campaign on Urban Govern- through increased income for small farmers. The ance provided input to the review of the Kenya Organization, in particular the United Nations Local Governance Act, drawing on examples of Conference on Trade and Development, contin- legislation for participatory governance from ues to advocate policies that enhance free and Bolivia, the Philippines and South Africa. In In- fair trade. The Doha Ministerial Declaration, dia, an urban slum improvement policy has been adopted by the Fourth Ministerial Conference of initiated and an urban reform incentive fund has WTO in November 2001, launched a work pro- been set up. In Nigeria, a new ministry of hous- gramme of trade negotiations to be accom- ing and urban development has been established plished by no later than 1 January 2005. By plac- and in Namibia a law on flexible land tenure has ing development at the heart of multilateral trade been drafted with a view to ensuring security of negotiations, the Doha Declaration provides a tenure for slum-dwellers. major opportunity as well as a challenge for all 114. Addressing urban poverty needs to go stakeholders to fully integrate the concerns and hand in hand with fighting rural poverty. At its interests of developing countries into the trade high-level segment, held in July 2003, the Eco- negotiations and work programme. The Fifth nomic and Social Council adopted a ministerial Ministerial Conference of WTO, to be held at declaration on promoting an integrated ap- Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003, will take proach to rural development in developing coun- stock of progress in the Doha work programme tries for poverty eradication and sustainable de- and provide political guidance and take decisions velopment. A key message of the declaration was as necessary. The successful conclusion of the de- the call for renewed political will to make the velopment round of trade negotiations is vital to global partnership work for rural development. reviving the world economy. The Fifth Ministe- Many countries emphasized the overriding im- rial Conference represents an important mile- pact of the policies of developed countries on ru- stone on the road to a successful conclusion of the ral development, notably those regarding re- Doha round. I urge Member States to make every stricted market access, agricultural producer effort to ensure a successful outcome of subsidies and insufficient aid. All recognized the meeting as well as the success of the round as that rural development was the responsibility of a whole. each country and was predicated on an enabling 113. Extreme poverty is becoming an increas- national environment. The issue of rural poverty ingly urban phenomenon, with nearly half the is thus back on the international agenda. world’s population now living in cities and 1 bil- 115. Economic well-being, nutrition and good lion people in slums. The rate of rural to urban health are mutually reinforcing. Eradication of migration in developing countries is increasing at poverty will improve nutrition and health, while a pace that far exceeds the rate of urbanization as poor nutrition and ill health carry adverse eco- a whole and the phenomenon is having a substan- nomic costs and impede efforts aimed at poverty tial impact on the food and nutritional security of eradication. The Organization continues to focus both producers and consumers in developing on activities that will help improve access to food countries. At the same time, however, over 60 per and ensure good health. FAO is currently assist-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 24 Report of the Secretary-General ing countries in revising and updating their food tionably one of the keys to achieving poverty re- security and agricultural development strategies. duction. UNICEF has supported basic education As a result, to date, across the regions of the by focusing on a strengthening of the cognitive world, over 150 national strategies for food and psychosocial aspects of early childhood care. security and agricultural development have been This covers the promotion of universal access to prepared. Governments have officially endorsed and completion of quality basic education, in- some 117such strategies. The International Fund cluding the development of a healthy, effective for Agricultural Development (IFAD) continues to and protective learning environment. An impor- advocate strategies that build on the initiative and tant aspect of the support is the promotion of capabilities of poor rural producers. Acting as a community participation and parents’ involve- catalyst, IFAD brings together key stakeholders ment in schools. and mobilizes resources, knowledge and policies 119. Over the past year, the Organization con- to enable the rural poor to overcome poverty. In tinued to address the challenge of weak institu- particular, IFAD projects provide financing and tional structures and inadequate administrative help raise additional resources to increase the ac- capacity. In 2002, the United Nations Committee cess of rural poor people to land, water and other of Experts on Public Administration suggested essential resources, to develop rural financial priority areas for Member States to build further services in support of small enterprises and to en- capacity in governance and public adminis- courage sustainable agricultural production, as tration, including in human resource manage- well as to increase marketing opportunities and ment, knowledge management, management of access to markets. information and communication technology and 116. Food aid will remain an important in- the decentralization of administration. To that strument for hunger reduction, especially in end, for example, during 2002-2003, the Depart- emergency and post-conflict situations. In 2002, ment of Economic and Social Affairs, in coopera- WFP provided food aid to 72 million of the world’s tion with UNDP, helped in strengthening munici- poorest people. Overall, 77 per cent of WFP re- pal and district administration in Rwanda sources, or more than $1 billion, was used for ac- through the preparation of relevant legislation, tivities in the 50 countries identified in the FAO creation of new management structures and report State of Food Insecurity in the World 2002 as training. The Economic and Social Commission having the greatest number of hungry people as for Western Asia (ESCWA) is building an online a proportion of total population. database on democracy and good governance 117. In the area of health, the Global Polio practices in the region, including data on the rule Eradication Initiative, led by UNICEF, WHO, the of law, human rights and freedom. Centers for Disease Control of the United States 120. Promoting the creation of greater eco- and Rotary International, made further strides nomic opportunities for women is critical to the in 2002. Seven countries were polio-endemic by eradication of poverty, since the majority of the the end of 2002, down from 10 a year earlier. A people living in poverty, in particular in develop- record 500 million children received oral polio ing countries, are women. During 2002, the vaccine in 93 countries; UNICEF purchased and United Nations Development Fund for Women delivered the majority of the vaccines, some (UNIFEM) collaborated with ESCWA and the Eco- 1.3 billion doses. UNICEF and other key stake- nomic and Social Commission for Asia and the holders also supported national and subnational Pacific to help national institutions mainstream immunization days, reaching more than 200 mil- gender perspectives into statistical systems to lion children. UNICEF also worked with WHO, better track women’s participation in the formal Médecins Sans Frontières, the International and informal economies. The 2003 Household Committee of the Red Cross and other partners Income and Expenditure Survey in Mexico is in responding to outbreaks of cholera, meningi- benefiting from that initiative. UNIFEM is also tis and malaria. helping to develop strategies to link low-income 118. An adequate primary education is closely producers to markets in Burkina Faso, the Demo- linked to the escape from poverty. In 2003, al- cratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nigeria, most one third of all children in developing Rwanda, South Asia and the Arab States. Such countries failed to complete the minimum educa- strategies include facilitating women’s access to tion requirements for basic literacy and it is esti- potential purchasers of their products, through, mated that 134 million children in those coun- inter alia, the organization of cooperatives, the tries are not in school or have never been to use of information and communication technolo- school. Among poor children, the majority of gies—including web sites—for information ex- those who have never had access to any formal change, and the holding of trading fairs for their schooling are girls. Yet girls’ education is unques- products. The second Forum of Women Entre-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 25 preneurs, organized by the Economic Commis- 124. At the regional level, ESCWA is cooperat- sion for Europe at Geneva in March 2003, ex- ing with the International Labour Organization, changed good practices in improving access to the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Devel- financing and information and communication opment and a number of national non- technology for small businesses run by women. governmental organizations in implementing 121. In Jordan, a partnership initiated by the Regional Agenda for Action on Technology, UNIFEM in 2000 with Cisco Systems, Inc., and the Employment and Poverty Alleviation. That Government of Jordan is yielding positive results initiative aims at harnessing selected new tech- in increasing women’s ability to access and shape nologies for employment creation and poverty the information and communication technology alleviationwithemphasisoneconomicallydis- sector through the development of 10 Cisco net- advantaged rural communities. The Agenda in- working academies. The project has achieved cludes provision for setting up technology com- 63.3 per cent female enrolment in the academies munity centres to bring literacy, basic education and has produced better information and data on and vocational training to impoverished commu- Jordanian women in the information and com- nities. The first three of a series of such centres munication technology sector and greater inter- will be launched in Lebanon in September 2003. est among planners in that area in using such in- Others are to follow shortly, both in Lebanon and formation as a basis for policies and programmes. other member countries. In Africa, technical as- 122. In 2002, the United Nations Information sistance provided by the Economic Commission and Communication Technologies Task Force for Africa (ECA) is helping strengthen public fi- continued to address policy issues such as the in- nancial management and build capacity for in- tegration of national electronic strategies into formation and communication technology for overall development and poverty eradication development in support of the African Informa- strategies, as well as information and communi- tion Society Initiative. cation technology as an instrument for the ad- vancement and empowerment of women, as em- Achieving the Millennium Development Goals phasized by the Commission on the Status of 125. In July 2002, the entire United Nations Women at its forty-seventh session, in March system endorsed a core strategy for supporting 2003. In 2002, the Task Force undertook a num- the achievement of the Millennium Develop- ber of initiatives to address different aspects of ment Goals. The main elements of that strategy the ICT for Development agenda. In partnership include monitoring progress at the national and with UNDP and the United Nations Fund for global levels, operational support to national pri- International Partnerships, the Task Force orities, research and advocacy. launched digital diaspora networks for Africa 126. The United Nations Development and the Caribbean. Those initiatives aim at creat- Group, the Executive Committee on Economic ing a network that will link the technological, and Social Affairs and the World Bank are collab- entrepreneurial, professional and financial re- orating to monitor progress in the implementa- sources of members of the diasporas in North tion of the United Nations Millennium Declara- America and Europe with their counterparts in tion (General Assembly resolution 55/2) and to Africa and the Caribbean. improve the process of reporting and analysing 123. The Global Virtual University, which I indicators at the national and international lev- launched in June 2003, a joint initiative of the els. My annual report on implementation of the United Nations University (UNU) and UNEP,isa Millennium Development Goals will document tangible example of cooperation in building dig- progress and shortfalls in attaining the Goals. At ital bridges to promote human security and pros- the country level, as at June 2003, 37 national Mil- perity through environmentally sustainable de- lennium Development Goal reports had been velopment. The Global Virtual University is an completed, with technical and financial support international network of cooperating universities from UNDP, and I expect that at least an addi- and institutions organized as a branch of UNU tional 60 will be completed by the end of 2003. with an administrative centre at Arendal, Nor- The reports are helping to ensure that the Mil- way. Its core institutions are UNU, UNEP, the lennium Development Goals become a central UNEP Global Resource Information Data Centre part of the development debate throughout soci- in Norway (GRID-Arendal) and Agder University eties. College in Norway and it will deliver online 127. In its operational response to the Millen- courses and programmes on environment and nium Development Goals, the United Nations development with a global outreach. Addition- system at the country level has striven to bring its ally, universities in Ghana, Uganda and South collective expertise together to support the Africa are among its participants. achievement of national goals. It is worth noting

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 26 Report of the Secretary-General that 117 countries had completed common ing on Millennium Development Goal handbooks country assessments and 86 the United Nations for parliamentarians. In developing countries, Development Assistance Framework by June the Campaign is linking and building coalitions 2003. for action to encourage Governments to imple- 128. The emergence of the World Bank’s pov- ment pro-poor policies. By means of numerous erty reduction strategy papers as a critical na- public speaking engagements, seminars and con- tional tool for focusing expenditures and devel- ferences, including campaign tours through opment assistance on poverty reduction northern Europe and Italy, goal 8 of the Millen- priorities, including the Millennium Develop- nium Development Goals, which emphasizes de- ment Goals, is providing an opportunity for the veloping global partnerships for development, United Nations system to further the Goals has taken a central place in many national de- through its support to national Governments. To bates on the Goals. On many occasions, before a date, 30 countries have completed full poverty variety of audiences, the message has been pro- reduction strategy papers and 48 have completed moted that action needs to be taken on debt, aid, interim papers. trade and transfer of technology. 129. As a contribution to the debate on obsta- 132. Achieving the Millennium Development cles to and policies for achieving the Millennium Goals will require a collective response to the Development Goals, part II of the World Economic challenges faced by the international community and Social Survey 2003examines the links between in the area of development. The outcomes of re- certain macroeconomic policies and poverty, cent major United Nations conferences and sum- reviewing the relationships between growth- mits, in particular, the International Conference oriented policies and poverty, the impact of trade on Financing for Development, held at policies on poverty and the consequences for the Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002, the World urban poor of macroeconomic policy responses Summit on Sustainable Development, held at Jo- to shocks. It analyses the effects of some policies hannesburg, South Africa, in August 2002, and more directly aimed at poverty reduction, such as the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held at market-based approaches to land reform and the Madrid in April 2002, have elaborated upon and liberalization and privatization of staple food added to the commitments made in the Millen- markets in Africa. It also examines the increase in nium Declaration adopted at the Millennium poverty in the countries with economies in transi- Summit held at United Nations Headquarters in tion since 1990, as well as government and indi- September 2000. Moreover, at the summit of the vidual reactions. Additionally, under the re- Group of Eight in May 2003, the eight heads of search pillar, the Millennium Project and its task State reiterated their support to achieving the forces and secretariat collaborated with UNDP in Millennium Development Goals and the com- the preparation of the Human Development Report mitments made at Monterrey. The major chal- 2003: Millennium Development Goals, published in lenge continues to be converting those interna- July. tional commitments through cooperation for 130. In October 2002, I launched the Millen- development into better lives for people around nium Development Goal campaign to make the the world. What the conferences and summits commitments better known throughout the have further illustrated is that such implementa- world and to ensure that they are the focus of tion needs to be, more than ever before, a multi- global action. A Millennium Campaign Unit was stakeholder undertaking involving Govern- established in November 2002 and is assembling ments, civil society, business and others. a core team of developing and developed country nationals and has started to build networks and partnerships across civil society, parliamentari- Sustainable development ans, media and other key groups worldwide. 133. The Plan of Implementation adopted at 131. The Millennium Campaign team has the World Summit on Sustainable Development met with officials from the Organization, parlia- led to an increased focus on implementation mentarians, development ministers, religious through the adoption of several goals and targets. leaders, media, civil society, non-governmental Those goals and targets were in such areas as organizations, trade unions and research institu- water, sanitation, health and energy as well as re- tions. It has established working relationships lated to the use and production of chemicals and with parliamentary networks such as the Inter- the maintenance and restoration of fish stocks. Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary The Plan encouraged the development of a 10- Network on the World Bank and has been partici- year framework of programmes to accelerate the pating actively in key Parliamentary Network shift towards sustainable consumption and pro- meetings as they begin the process of collaborat- duction.

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134. Over 200 partnerships for sustainable at Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan, in March 2003, development were announced as part of the I called for action to secure access to safe drinking follow-up to the World Summit. Entities of the water and improve sanitation, especially for the United Nations system have engaged in many of poor and vulnerable. On 22 March 2003, World those partnerships and a significant amount of Water Day, the Organization launched its first resources has already been committed for them. World Water Development Report: Water for People, I am confident that the partnerships will help to Water for Life, the most comprehensive, up-to-date engage key actors in the implementation process. review of the state of the world’s water resources. 135. Tobuild on the momentum generated by the World Summit, the Commission on Sustain- Africa able Development has reoriented its work to en- 138. At its fifty-seventh session, the General sure the implementation of the commitments Assembly welcomed the New Partnership for Af- made in Johannesburg. The Organization will rica’s Development (NEPAD), as a programme of fully support the work of the Commission in its the African Union, which should serve as the activities. The United Nations System Chief Ex- framework for the international community’s ecutives Board for Coordination is now finalizing support for Africa’s development. The Assembly the inter-agency mechanisms for system-wide also endorsed my decision to establish the Office follow-up to the Summit in such areas as fresh of the Special Adviser on Africa in the Secreta- water, sanitation, energy, oceans and coastal riat. The main functions of the Office include areas, and sustainable consumption and produc- support for my role in global coordination and tion. Those mechanisms will make possible the advocacy on Africa as well as reporting to the As- coordination of policy initiatives by the con- sembly and the Economic and Social Council in cerned entities of the United Nations system. At their deliberations on Africa. the field level, the Organization is assisting Gov- 139. The Economic Commission for Africa ernments in integrating the outcomes of the provides support for the implementation of the Summit into national strategies related to sus- New Partnership for Africa’s Development at the tainable development. Many member entities of regional level. ECA chairs the annual regional the Executive Committee on Economic and So- consultation meetings of United Nations entities cial Affairs, such as the regional commissions, working in Africa, which is a platform for pro- UNEP, UNDP, UN-Habitat and the Department of moting system-wide coordination and effective- Economic and Social Affairs, have made encour- ness in support of the New Partnership. ECA has aging headway in integrating the operational and also been actively involved in developing the normative aspects of the Organization’s work in codes and standards on economic and corporate the area of sustainable development through ad- governance for the African Peer Review Mecha- visory services and technical cooperation. A nism. It is also currently undertaking joint major objective of such technical cooperation is technical work with the secretariat of the Organi- the creation of national capacity for the imple- sation for Economic Co-operation and Develop- mentation of the outcomes of the Summit and ment aimed at developing an institutional frame- previous conferences and summits. work for mutual accountability and policy 136. In 2002, a secretariat became operational consistency in response to a request from the in the Department of Economic and Social Af- NEPAD Heads of State and Government Imple- fairs to support the United Nations Forum on mentation Committee. In 2002, ECA conducted Forests, which is recognized in the Johannesburg studies, issued reports and organized meetings Plan of Implementation as a key intergovern- and workshops on the capacity of the African mental mechanism to facilitate and coordinate public sector for effective management and the the implementation of sustainable forest man- enhancement of participation of civil society in agement worldwide. At its third session, held at development and governance processes. ECA Geneva in June 2003, the Forum decided to es- technical cooperation is promoting a broad meas- tablish ad hoc expert groups for the protection of ure of consensus on what constitutes a capable forests. Among other issues, those groups will ad- State, a better understanding of governance pro- dress the finance and transfer of environmentally cesses, maintaining governance issues on the sound technologies for the preservation of for- agenda of policy makers and assessment of insti- ests. tutional capacity. 137. The issue of water and sanitation re- 140. The United Nations Development Pro- mained high on the international agenda. In De- gramme developed a strategic framework for cember 2002, the General Assembly declared supporting the New Partnership for Africa’s De- 2003 International Year of Freshwater. In my velopment and its secretariat, especially in its message to the Third World Water Forum, held promotion of democratic governance, and has

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 28 Report of the Secretary-General continued to implement the information and developmental objectives of the New Partner- communication technology initiatives for Africa ship. For example, UNICEF technical staff assisted of the Tokyo International Conference on Afri- national counterparts in preparing viable propo- can Development aimed at modernizing the sals for funding by the Global Alliance for Vac- communication sector in Africa. The project has cines and Immunization. so far assisted in the formulation of four national 143. The United Nations Population Fund information and communication technology developed and adopted a plan of action for im- strategies, in Cameroon, Nigeria, the United Re- plementation in 2003 that focuses on five objec- public of Tanzania and Zambia, and the estab- tives of the New Partnership: poverty reduction, lishment of 36 Cisco networking academies in health, education, water and sanitation and agri- Africa. Two workshops were held, in Benin and culture. Through its national and regional pro- Malaysia, which promoted partnerships between grammes in Africa, UNFPA is supporting the ob- Asian and African private sectors. The work- jectives and activities of the New Partnership shops enabled 30 African countries to share ex- through data collection and analysis, provision of perience with their Asian counterparts and to reproductive services and capacity-building in identify ways of working closer together in an the areas of population and development. effort to bolster South-South cooperation. 144. Food aid continues to be important to Af- 141. The Department of Economic and Social rica. In 2002, WFP provided 2.1 million tons of Affairs, in cooperation with UNDP, supported the food aid, or 55 per cent of its total food deliveries, Pan-African Conference of Ministers of Public to sub-Saharan Africa and spent 56 per cent of its Service, held at Stellenbosch, South Africa, in resources in that region, amounting to $899 mil- May 2003, by providing advisory services and lion. WFP also purchased more than 590,000 tons technical assistance in capacity-building to im- of food in sub-Saharan Africa, for a total value of prove public administration in Africa. The Fifth more than $120 million, stimulating local pro- Africa Governance Forum, held at Maputo in duction and markets. May 2002, on the theme “Local governance for poverty eradication in Africa” and supported by UNDP, ECA and the Department of Economic and Addressing the needs of Social Affairs, yielded a set of principles for de- the least developed countries, centralization and people-centred government. landlocked developing countries and Those principles are expected to reform public small island developing States sector management and enhance the knowledge 145. Making development more inclusive in- and skills of senior civil servants. volves ensuring that particular groups of vulner- 142. The United Nations Children’s Fund able countries, in particular least developed and the African Union will shortly be launching countries, landlocked developing countries and a white paper entitled “The Young Face of small island developing States, are not left out of NEPAD”, in support of giving higher priority the global economy and the development pro- to investing in African children for a better fu- cess. During 2002, the Office of the High Repre- ture for the continent. Support to African Gov- sentative for the Least Developed Countries, ernments in achieving the objectives of the New Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Is- Partnership for Africa’s Development will be land Developing States continued its efforts to consistent with achieving the Millennium Devel- promote mainstreaming of the Brussels Pro- opment Goals, in particular the child and mater- gramme of Action for the Least Developed Coun- nal mortality targets. UNICEF thematic work in tries for the Decade 2001-2010 into the work the areas of HIV/AIDS, girls’ education and im- agendas of the various agencies, funds and pro- munization are also important contributions to grammes of the Organization. Other multilateral progress towards the objectives of the New Part- organizations that have taken similar steps are nership. For instance, by the end of 2002, 37 Afri- the African Development Bank, the Asian Devel- can countries had applied for support from the opment Bank, the Inter-Parliamentary Union Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. and the South Asian Association for Regional Co- UNICEF technical staff continue to provide assist- operation. I have encouraged the foreign minis- ance to national counterparts in the poverty re- ters of the least developed countries to establish duction strategy papers, the common country as- national arrangements for the implementation, sessment and the United Nations Development follow-up, monitoring and review of the Brussels Assistance Framework processes to help ensure Programme of Action. that poverty reduction strategies and debt relief 146. Over the past year, the United Nations have a positive effect on basic services for chil- Conference on Trade and Development made dren and women that are linked to meeting the substantive and operational contributions to the

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 29 implementation of the international pro- and to integrate HIV/AIDS into development grammes and initiatives related to least de- planning instruments. I am pleased to note that, veloped countries, landlocked developing coun- by the end of 2002, a total number of 102 coun- tries and small island developing States. UNFPA tries had developed national strategic plans for continued to provide two thirds of its resources to HIV/AIDS. the least developed countries, especially in Af- 151. The World Health Organization, with rica, for programmes covering reproductive UNICEF and UNAIDS, developed and dissemi- health and rights, with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS nated strategic information in a number of key prevention and care; gender equality and em- areas to support countries in the rational selec- powerment of women; and population and devel- tion and use of HIV medicines. WHO, UNICEF, opment strategies. UNAIDS and Médecins Sans Frontières continue 147. Major attention has been given to the to maintain and provide updated information on preparation of the International Ministerial Con- prices and sources of HIV medicines in the public ference of Landlocked and Transit Developing domain. That initiative is being expanded to in- Countries and Donor Countries and Interna- clude information on drug registration in coun- tional Financial and Development Institutions tries. UNDP facilitated community conversations on Transit Transport Cooperation, being held in in Ethiopia and South Africa on HIV/AIDS to ad- Almaty on 28 and 29 August 2003. This is the dress underlying factors that fuel the epidemic first ever United Nations event to address the and to strengthen the capacity of communities to special needs of landlocked developing coun- initiate and sustain prevention, care and treat- tries. ment programmes. 148. Particular attention has been given to the 152. The World Food Programme, in collabo- implementation of the Barbados Programme of ration with IFAD and FAO, provided food assist- Action for the Sustainable Development of Small ance to 34 HIV/AIDS-related projects in over 20 Island Developing States and the Johannesburg countries worldwide, seeking to ensure that AIDS- Plan of Implementation to enable the Organiza- affected households received food rations and tion to address the developmental challenges of food baskets adjusted to suit their needs. FAO small island developing States arising from their continued to provide technical assistance to min- small size, vulnerability to natural disasters, frag- istries of agriculture to strengthen their capacity ile ecosystems and limited or lack of natural re- to address the agricultural labour shortages cre- sources and freshwater. The Organization is par- ated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to develop ticipating actively in the preparations for the food and nutrition-based interventions to miti- International Meeting to Review the Implemen- gate its effects. tation of the Barbados Programme of Action, to 153. UNICEF country offices have demon- be held in Mauritius in 2004. strated substantial commitment to achieving the medium-term goals. Growth in expenditure on Battling HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS-related activities has more than tri- 149. In the past year, the eight co-sponsors pled, from an estimated $30 million in 2000 to and the secretariat of the Joint United Nations $67 million in 2001 and $96 million in 2002, and Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have been en- all 127 country offices supported HIV/AIDS- gaged in providing support for the effective im- related activities and/or advocacy in 2002. plementation of the Declaration of Commitment 154. The United Nations Development Fund adopted by the General Assembly at its special for Women is currently working with national session on HIV/AIDS, in 2001. A global consensus AIDS councils in 10 countries to strengthen the has emerged on policies and programmes neces- councils’ capacity to enhance their programmes sary to fight the disease. UNAIDS has supported from a gender perspective. In an effort to support efforts to increase global awareness of the disease gender-sensitive action worldwide, in February through education and dissemination of infor- 2003 UNIFEM and UNAIDS launched the first elec- mation to the public; to improve access to treat- tronic portal on gender and HIV/AIDS. ment in areas that are plagued by scarce re- 155. Individuals in refugee situations are of- sources; and to strengthen the capacity of ten particularly vulnerable to disease. UNHCR communities with the engagement of civil society and its partners continue to advocate for and ac- in its fight against the disease. celerate the implementation of HIV/AIDS pre- 150. Over the past year, HIV/AIDS continued vention and care projects in refugee situations. In to be a key priority for the Organization’s opera- close collaboration with UNAIDS, UNHCR com- tional activities in development. During 2002, pleted, in February 2002, a Strategic Plan on United Nations theme groups on HIV/AIDS have HIV/AIDS for 2002-2004, which is being imple- assisted countries to develop multisectoral plans mented in Africa.

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156. In the past year, the United Nations Of- tion of the Madrid International Plan of Action fice on Drugs and Crime has initiated compre- and for incorporating ageing into national poli- hensive drug-related HIV/AIDS prevention activi- cies and international programmes. ties in several countries in Central and Eastern 161. Follow-up at the regional level includes Europe, as well as in Africa, Central Asia, East the adoption by the ECE Ministerial Conference Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the on Ageing, held in Berlin in September 2002, of a Caribbean and South Asia. Ministerial Declaration and a Regional Imple- 157. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tubercu- mentation Strategy for the Madrid International losis and Malaria remains an essential tool of the Plan of Action on Ageing. That Strategy ad- world community in striving to achieve goal 6 of dresses the economic and social concerns related the Millennium Development Goals, “Combat to ageing societies in the region. Governments in HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases”. The com- the region of Asia and the Pacific adopted the mitment of the Fund’s Board and secretariat is Shanghai Implementation Strategy as a regional that it will remain a financing mechanism and guideline for follow-up to the Madrid Plan and not become an operational agency. Success in the the Macao Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and field will therefore depend on the active collabo- the Pacific. The Strategy has provided a broad ration of the Fund’s partners, including Govern- policy framework for Governments in develop- ments, international organizations, the private ing national policies on ageing and in encourag- sector and civil society. The United Nations ing stronger partnership with civil society and system is committed to making the Global Fund a older people themselves. success. To date, the Fund has approved propo- 162. The rights of persons with disabilities sals, worth $1.5 billion, for activities in 92 coun- are currently the focus of work of the Ad Hoc tries. Grants to individual countries can repre- Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral In- sent a significant proportion of the total public ternational Convention on the Protection and spending on health. Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. The Organization will address Social development issues of concern to people with disabilities 158. The United Nations promotes policies worldwide. and activities for social development, which focus on achieving a “society for all” that integrates and Combating illicit drug use and preventing crime provides opportunities for specific social groups. 163. The United Nations Office on Drugs The aim is to integrate the particular issues, con- and Crime supported alternative income- cerns and interests of those groups into policy- generating projects aimed at benefiting rural making, so that they become full participants in women and children. For example, in Viet Nam, society and active contributors to national devel- the Office has over the past year been developing opment. a replicable methodology for the substitution of income from opium production among ethnic Indigenous issues minority people in Ky Son District. Those activi- 159. An example of the Organization’s ties also contributed to drug demand reduction unique role in promoting participation for all is by strengthening the capacity of national institu- its support for the Permanent Forum on Indige- tions and encouraging community-based devel- nous Issues. A new secretariat was established opment programmes. within the Department of Economic and Social 164. With the return of large-scale opium Affairs in February 2003. The Forum will advise production to Afghanistan, resulting in 3,400 the Economic and Social Council in the areas of tons of opium in 2002, Afghanistan is the source development, environment, health, education, of three quarters of global annual opium produc- culture and human rights. tion. In 2002, law enforcement measures by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime fo- Ageing and people with disabilities cused on providing support to strengthening law 160. The Madrid International Plan of enforcement capacity in neighbouring and tran- Action on Ageing, adopted by the Second World sit countries. In the first half of 2003, the Office Assembly on Ageing in April 2002, formulated initiated a package of new law enforcement activ- objectives and recommendations for action in ities for West and Central Asia worth more than three priority areas: older persons and develop- $25 million. That initiative seeks to strengthen ment; advancing health and well-being into old capacity for border control, including cross- age; and ensuring an enabling and supportive en- border cooperation in countries neighbouring vironment for older people. Emphasis is placed Afghanistan, and to support the creation of new on building capacity for national implementa- drug enforcement units in Kabul and important

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Afghan provinces and set up new controls along same time, there is a corresponding disquiet on key Afghan borders. the part of developing countries in the Commis- 165. The Office has also introduced a CD-ROM- sion on Human Rights on the issue of how to deal based training programme for law enforcement with allegations of gross violations of human training in South-East Asia and Turkey and is in- rights levelled at some of them. volved in setting up law enforcement training 169. As the Organization acknowledges such centres and national databases on crime and pub- areas of progress and also the challenges that it lic security in Brazil. faces in the field of human rights, it is important 166. During the last year, the United Nations to note the large areas of common ground among Office on Drugs and Crime managed technical the membership on such issues and to build on assistance projects to combat corruption and traf- them in enhancing international cooperation for ficking in persons. Corruption projects in Co- the effective protection of human rights in the lombia, Hungary, Nigeria, Romania and South future. The number of ratifications of interna- Africa aimed at supporting the development and tional human rights treaties has continued to in- implementation of national anti-corruption pro- crease, consistent with one of the goals of the grammes and assisting those countries in United Nations Millennium Declaration. Over strengthening judicial integrity and capacity. the past 12 months, five new States have become Anti-trafficking projects in the Czech Republic, parties to the International Convention on the Poland, the Philippines and West Africa aimed at Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimina- improving the criminal justice response to traf- tion; one to the International Covenant on Civil ficking in persons, encouraging the implementa- and Political Rights; one to the International tion of victim support initiatives and assisting Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural with the implementation of the Protocol to Pre- Rights; four to the Convention against Torture vent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Per- and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat- sons, Especially Women and Children, supple- ment or Punishment; one to the Convention on menting the United Nations Convention against the Rights of the Child; five to the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and three to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Chapter IV Migrant Workers and Members of Their Fami- lies, which entered into force on 1 July 2003. The international legal order and human rights There have also been additional ratifications to the two Optional Protocols to the International Human rights development Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the two 167. Human rights remain very central to the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the work of the United Nations. Over the past year I Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to have been encouraged by a growing international the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms consensus concerning the universality of human of Discrimination against Women. I should like rights; the efforts by Member States to implement to use this occasion to appeal, once more, to States international human rights conventions; interna- that have not yet done so to ratify or accede to tional cooperation in building national capacity the fundamental international human rights in human rights; the increasing integration of treaties. human rights into activities relating to develop- 170. The work of the expert bodies estab- ment, conflict prevention, peacemaking, peace- lished under the human rights treaties continues keeping, peace-building and humanitarian as- to be of critical importance. Over the past year sistance; and the growing strength of the the Human Rights Committee, the Committee international human rights movement. on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 168. At the same time, problems in the imple- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrim- mentation of human rights continue to be experi- ination, the Committee on the Rights of the enced in many parts of the world and gross viola- Child and the Committee against Torture have, tions have not ceased. A slowing international among them, considered the reports of 112 States economy and inadequacies in governance have parties and adopted five general comments that lessened the ability of Governments to uphold clarify the meaning of the treaties and offer prac- minimum standards of economic and social tical pointers on their implementation. The peti- rights, as well as of civil and political rights. The tions procedures operating under a number of Governments of some developed countries show international human rights treaties offer valu- signs of resentment as international human able opportunities to enhance international pro- rights conventions are applied to them. At the tection. Over the past year, expert bodies have

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 32 Report of the Secretary-General adopted well over 100 decisions and views on in- gional secretariats serving such institutions. The dividual cases, most of which contribute in sig- Office of the High Commissioner has engaged in nificant ways to the development of international human rights technical cooperation projects in human rights law. Moreover, a number of practi- 32 countries and maintains a field presence in 29 cal measures have been taken to improve the countries. The human rights work of the United methods of work of the treaty bodies and en- Nations thus increasingly emphasizes the impor- hance cooperation among them. These include tance of effectively functioning national protec- the adoption by the Human Rights Committee tion systems. To the same end, significant pro- and the Committee against Torture of mecha- gress has been made in integrating human rights nisms to follow up on the adoption of concluding into the development activities of the United observations. Nations system. In May 2003, the second inter- 171. The special rapporteurs and experts ap- agency workshop on rights-based approaches to pointed by the Commission on Human Rights development adopted a number of recommenda- have continued to perform an indispensable role tions for strengthening our activities in that area. as front-line protection actors. There are now At my request, the High Commissioner for Hu- some 40 such special appointees in action. Over man Rights, in cooperation with the United the past year their reports have touched upon nu- Nations Development Group and the Executive merous human rights themes concerning a total Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, is prepar- of about 60 situations in different countries. ing a joint plan of action to strengthen human These individual experts, serving in their per- rights–related United Nations action at the sonal capacity, have issued over 700 urgent ap- country level. The plan, to be adopted in Septem- peals to Governments seeking the protection of ber 2003 and implemented over the next three persons or groups in need. Efforts have contin- years, will include specific measures required to ued during the past year to strengthen their improve the capacity of the development and hu- methods of operation, including measures to manitarian agencies of the United Nations to co- better clarify relations between them and staff of operatively assist Member States in their efforts the Office of the United Nations High Commis- to establish and develop national human rights sioner for Human Rights, the introduction of in- promotion and protection systems. duction sessions and briefing material for new 173. Human rights violations are often partic- holders of special mandates, better coordination ularly severe in societies undergoing major polit- and follow-up to communications with Govern- ical, social and economic transformation. A ments, and increased interaction with strategic United Nations University study reaffirms the partners inside and outside the United Nations priority of human rights practices in societies in system. The interactive dialogue between special transition, not only because of their intrinsic procedure mandate-holders and members of the value, but also because of their multiplier effects Commission, which has been inspired by the sim- on democratization, economic development and ilar exchange taking place within the framework conflict resolution. of the Third Committee of the General Assem- 174. The fifty-ninth session of the Commis- bly, has proved successful and will no doubt be sion on Human Rights, in 2003, included an un- enhanced in coming years. A new Special Proce- precedented high-level segment, which lasted dures Branch has been established within the Of- four days and attracted some 70 dignitaries from fice of the High Commissioner to enhance the around the world. At the same time, more than effectiveness of the special rapporteurs and ex- 40 national human rights institutions partici- perts, including helping to develop criteria for pated in the work of the Commission, providing appointment, harmonizing operational stand- their perspectives, assessments and insights. This ards, improving awareness of their activities and has been a significant development in the activity providing an adequate level of staff support. of the Commission. Also, for the first time, na- 172. In my report of September 2002 entitled tional human rights institutions have been in- “Strengthening of the United Nations: an vited to participate in the drafting of an interna- agenda for further change”, I called for intensi- tional human rights instrument through the fied efforts to strengthen cooperation within the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehen- United Nations system in support of building na- sive and Integral International Convention on tional capacity in human rights. This is an area the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and where we are seeing important positive develop- Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. ments. Over the past year the Office of the High 175. Participation in the sessions of the Com- Commissioner for Human Rights, using mainly mission on Human Rights has been impressive by voluntary contributions, has assisted some 50 na- any standard. This past year, in addition to the 53 tional human rights institutions, as well as re- member States, 100 observer Governments and

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 33 some 1,600 representatives of non-governmental additional step of electing the Court’s first Prose- organizations attended, together with represen- cutor. It also made recommendations on the tatives of regional and subregional organizations election of the Registrar. The Prosecutor subse- and entities of the United Nations system. The quently gave his solemn undertaking on 16 June Commission has thus evolved into a major forum 2003 and the judges elected the Registrar on 25 for partnership between governmental and non- June. With the judges, the Presidency, the Prose- governmental representatives within the United cutor and the Registrar in place, the process of Nations system. electing key officials to constitute the organs of 176. The Commission on Human Rights is not the Court has been completed. In the year ahead, without problems, however. There has been pub- the focus will shift from institution-building to lic disquiet over the fact that Governments ac- preparing for the Court to exercise its investiga- cused of gross violations of human rights are ad- tive and prosecutorial powers and discharge its mitted to membership in the Commission. There judicial functions. has been concern about the tone of discussion in 179. The number of States that have ratified or the Commission and the fact that it does not ad- acceded to the Rome Statute has continued to in- dress certain situations of grave violations of hu- crease steadily. Ninety-one States, from all re- man rights. These are all important questions gions, are now parties to the Statute, compared that I hope will be seriously addressed by the Bu- with76thistimelastyear.Iamgreatlyencouraged reau of the Commission prior to the next session. by this steady increase in support and would ap- 177. At the end of the day, United Nations hu- peal to all Member States that have not yet done so man rights activities must inspire public trust. to ratify or accede to the Statute and to take the Promotional activities without adequate and necessary steps to implement its provisions. effective protection will not win that trust— 180. Pursuant to General Assembly resolu- neither of the people at large, nor of the non- tion 57/23 of 19 November 2002, the United governmental organizations and civil society ac- Nations Secretariat has served as the provisional tors on whom we depend so greatly for our hu- secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties. The man rights work. I should like to take this oppor- Assembly of States Parties is expected to decide, tunity to express my appreciation to all those at its second session, in early September, on the organizations and individuals in the human establishment of its own secretariat. I am confi- rights movement who make our human rights dent that, in any event, the ties between the work possible, whether it be through research, United Nations and the Court will endure: the fact-finding, protection, human rights education Organization and the Court will be linked by a or the dissemination of information. formal relationship agreement and bonds of his- tory. For over half a century, the United Nations The International Criminal Court has played a central role in the efforts to establish 178. Since the Rome Statute of the Interna- a permanent international criminal court—an af- tional Criminal Court entered into force on firmation of the shared conviction that justice 1 July 2002, much progress has been made in and peace are indispensable for human develop- turning the Court into a functioning judicial in- ment. The establishment of such a court repre- stitution. The Assembly of States Parties to the sents a lasting contribution by the United Statute held its first session in September 2002 Nations to the maintenance of international and took important decisions, including the peace and security and to the promotion of the adoption of a number of ancillary instruments rule of law and respect for human rights and fun- necessary for the Court’s efficient and effective damental freedoms around the world. operation. Notable among these were the Ele- ments of Crimes and the Court’s Rules of Proce- International Tribunals dure and Evidence. At its resumed first session, in February 2003, the Assembly elected the 18 International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia judges of the Court—7 women and 11men, repre- 181. The International Tribunal for the For- senting all regions, legal systems and traditions. mer Yugoslavia handed down judgements in two On 11 March 2003, at an inaugural meeting in cases during the past year. On 29 November The Hague, the 18 judges gave solemn undertak- 2002, Trial Chamber II convicted Mitar ings to perform their duties and exercise their Vasiljevic, accused of acts against the Muslim powers honourably, faithfully, impartially and population around Višegrad, in Bosnia and Her- conscientiously. They also elected the Presidency zegovina, of persecution and murder and sen- of the Court. In April 2003, at the second re- tenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment. On 31 sumption of its first session and after several March 2003, Trial Chamber I, Section A, con- months of consultations, the Assembly took the victed Mladen Naletilic and Vinko Martinovic,

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 34 Report of the Secretary-General for their treatment of Bosnian Muslim civilians taking further steps in that connection in the and prisoners of war, of crimes against humanity, coming months. violations of the laws and customs of war and 183. In the past year, 11 further accused were grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and transferred to The Hague, bringing the total sentenced them to 20 and 18 years’ imprison- number of detainees to 50, with 7 more on provi- ment, respectively. In addition, five accused en- sional release. Among those taken into custody tered guilty pleas. On 2 October 2002, Biljana were Milan Milutinovic, the former President of Plavšic, formerly active in the Presidency of the Serbia, Vojislav Seselj, the chairman of the Ser- Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina bian Radical Party and a member of the Serbian and later a member of the collective and ex- parliament, and Jovica Stanisic, Chief of the panded Presidencies of the Republika Srpska, State Security Service of the Republic of Serbia. pleaded guilty to the crime of persecution. In 184. On 29 July 2003, I addressed a letter to February 2003, the Tribunal sentenced her to 11 the President of the Security Council in which I years’ imprisonment. Subsequently, in May 2003, mentioned that I had formed the view, following Momir Nikolic and Dragan Obrenovic, accused consultations with members of the Council, that of crimes in connection with the fall of it was now time to split the positions of Prosecu- Srebrenica, and, in June 2003, Predrag Banovic, tor of the International Tribunal for the Former accused of crimes at the Keraterm camp, pleaded Yugoslavia and Prosecutor of the International guilty to the crime of persecution. A further four Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, so that they were trials, involving seven accused, are continuing. In occupied by different people. I further indicated July 2003, Darko Mrdja, a former commander of in my letter that, as the two Tribunals moved to- a Bosnian Serb special police unit, pleaded guilty wards implementing their respective completion to the crimes of murder and inhumane acts. strategies, it seemed essential and in the interests Meanwhile, in April 2003, the Appeals Chamber of efficiency and effectiveness that each Tribunal rejected the appeals of Zdravko Mucic, a Bosnian have its own Prosecutor, who would be able to de- Croat, and Hazim Delic and Esad Landzo, both vote his or her entire energies and attention to the Bosnian Muslims, and confirmed their sentences organization, oversight, management and con- for murder, torture and inhuman treatment duct of the outstanding investigations and prose- committed while they were staff members at the cutions before that Tribunal. By resolution Celebici prison camp in central Bosnia and Her- 1503(2003) of 28 August, the Security Council en- zegovina. On 31 July 2003, Milomir Stakic, a for- dorsed that suggestion. mer leading figure in the Municipality of Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where atroci- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ties were committed against non-Serbs, was 185. The International Criminal Tribunal for found guilty of extermination, murder, persecu- Rwanda has conducted nine trials over the course tion and deportation. of the past year, involving a total of 23 accused. In 182. Having received, in July 2002, Security three of those cases, it handed down judgements. Council endorsement of its completion strategy— On 19 February 2003, Trial Chamber I convicted that is, to concentrate on trying political, military Gérard Ntakirutimana, a medical doctor, of and paramilitary leaders and to transfer cases in- genocide and crimes against humanity and sen- volving mid-level accused to national courts for tenced him to 25 years’ imprisonment. It also trial—the Tribunal embarked upon implementa- found his father, Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, a tion of that strategy. In October 2002, it amended pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, its Rules of Procedure and Evidence to provide guilty of aiding and abetting in genocide, sen- for the possible referral of certain cases to na- tencing him to 10 years’ imprisonment. On 15 tional courts with jurisdiction over the place May 2003, Trial Chamber I convicted Eliézer where a crime had been committed or a suspect Niyitegeka, Minister of Information in Rwanda’s had been arrested. At a more practical level, the Interim Government of 1994, of genocide and Tribunal provided the Office of the High Repre- crimes against humanity and sentenced him sentative for Bosnia and Herzegovina with advice to life imprisonment. On the same day, Trial regarding its project to establish a specialized war Chamber III found Laurent Semanza, former crimes chamber in the State Court of Bosnia and bourgmestre of Bicumbi Commune, guilty of com- Herzegovina, to which the Tribunal could refer plicity to commit genocide and crimes against certain cases for trial. In February 2003, the Tri- humanity, sentencing him to 25 years’ imprison- bunal and the Office of the High Representative ment. This brings to 11 the total number of signed Joint Conclusions, establishing a basis for judgements that the Tribunal has handed down a common plan to implement that project. The since trials began in 1997. Four further cases are Tribunal and the High Representative will be nearing completion. The Tribunal expects to

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 35 have rendered 15 judgements, involving a total of ment accuses Mr. Taylor of “bearing the greatest 21accused, by the end of 2003. Two further trials, responsibility” for war crimes, crimes against hu- involving 10 accused, are currently ongoing and I manity and serious violations of international expect four more, involving another 10 accused, humanitarian law in Sierra Leone since 30 No- to start later this year. vember 1996. The Court had in fact confirmed 186. In addition to conducting trials, the Mr. Taylor’s indictment three months previously, three Trial Chambers have supervised pre-trial on 7 March, but had ordered that it remain preparations in 21 cases during the past year, in- under seal. To date, the Prosecutor has indicted volving 31accused. The Appeals Chamber, for its 12 individuals, 8 of whom are now under arrest. part, delivered a judgement on an appeal against One former Revolutionary United Front com- conviction—it rejected that appeal and confirmed mander, Sam Bockarie, was killed in Liberia and the original sentence—as well as six decisions on the Court is conducting a forensic examination of interlocutory appeals and 15 other decisions and his remains. The Court is also following up re- orders. The judges also held two plenary meet- ports that a further indictee, the former leader of ings at which they considered and adopted a the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, number of changes to the Tribunal’s Rules of Johnny Paul Koroma, has also been killed in Li- Procedure and Evidence, which should help to beria. In July 2003, Foday Sankoh died while in expedite proceedings. Following a decision by the custody of the Court awaiting trial. the Security Council, in its resolution 1431(2002) 190. In conjunction with the Management of 14 August 2002, to establish a pool of ad litem Committee of the Special Court, I have launched judges for the Tribunal, so as to further expedite several appeals to Member States for funding the Tribunal’s work, the General Assembly since March 2003, so as to enable the Court to elected 18 such judges on 25 June 2003, each to continue its activities beyond this calendar year. I serve for a four-year term with immediate effect. would take this opportunity to appeal once again 187. The Prosecutor has continued investiga- to Member States to contribute to the Trust Fund tions and expects to submit indictments against for the Special Court. up to 26 additional accused by the end of 2004. The Prosecutor’s investigations will then be com- Enhancing the rule of law plete. It is possible that the Tribunal may refer a 191. As has been apparent from my previous number of other cases that the Prosecutor has in- reports, I have made the strengthening of the in- vestigated to national courts for trial, including ternational rule of law a priority for the Organi- to those of Rwanda. The Registry has undergone zation. One of the principal ways in which the changes to strengthen its capacity to support United Nations can contribute to that objective is both the Tribunal’sother organs and the Defence by promoting the full and active participation of Counsel. Moreover, a Coordination Council now States in the international legal order. In that meets monthly to coordinate the work of the Tri- connection, it is gratifying to note the success of bunal’s three organs, while a Management Com- the treaty events organized each year since 2000, mittee meets every fortnight to ensure the best di- with a view to encouraging wider participation in rection of administrative and judicial support the multilateral treaty framework. Last year’s from the Registry to the Chambers. event, which took place during the World Sum- mit on Sustainable Development, resulted in the Special Court for Sierra Leone performance by 48 States of a total of 83 treaty ac- 188. In December 2002, the judges of the Tri- tions related to 39 treaties in the field of eco- als and Appeals Chambers of the Special Court nomic development and environmental protec- for Sierra Leone took their oaths of office in tion. I have invited Governments to participate in Freetown and elected the President of the Special a treaty event entitled “Focus 2003: multilateral Court. treaties against transnational organized crime 189. Over the past year, the Prosecutor and and terrorism”, to be held during the general de- his Office have been investigating crime scenes in bate at the fifty-eighth session of the General As- Sierra Leone, conducting investigations abroad sembly. and interviewing potential witnesses. On 10 192. Many States fail to sign or ratify treaties, March 2003, the Prosecutor announced his first however, not because of any lack of political will, indictments, including those of the commander but because of a simple shortage of technical ex- of the Revolutionary United Front, Foday pertise necessary for the performance of treaty Sankoh, and of a Minister in the Government of actions. Some also lack the expertise to enact the Sierra Leone, Hinga Norman. On 4 June 2003, necessary laws to implement the treaties that they the Prosecutor announced the indictment of have signed or ratified or to train the personnel Charles Taylor, President of Liberia. The indict- required to apply those laws. In order to address

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 36 Report of the Secretary-General those needs, I have invited States to inform me of Agreement and ensure that the Agreement, once any specific areas in which they might require ratified, will apply as law within Cambodia. technical assistance and have adapted the assist- There is much that the United Nations will have ance that the Organization currently offers in the to do also. In particular, I shall have to secure light of their responses. The Treaty Section of voluntary contributions to fund the assistance the Office of Legal Affairs and the United that the United Nations is to provide under the Nations Institute for Training and Research now Agreement. To that end, I shall soon be launch- provide training sessions on treaty law and prac- ing an appeal to States. First, though, I shall need tice twice a year at Headquarters for government to form a better picture of the probable require- officials, staff members of entities of the United ments of the extraordinary chambers in terms of Nations system and representatives of non- personnel, equipment, furniture, supplies and governmental organizations. This year, the pro- other operational needs. I hope to be able to send gramme was expanded to the regional level, with a planning mission to Phnom Penh for that pur- a workshop in the Lao People’s Democratic Re- pose in September 2003. I am fully conscious of public in February 2003, and another to follow in the need to act quickly. Otherwise, as the General Fiji in September 2003. Some 15 other develop- Assembly has pointed out, the opportunity of ing countries have requested training sessions in bringing to justice the senior leaders of the their capitals. I am exploring funding possibili- Khmer Rouge and those who were most responsi- ties so that I can respond positively to this de- ble for the terrible atrocities of the Khmer Rouge mand. More generally, with a view to stream- period may soon be lost. The Cambodian people lining the provision of technical legal assistance have waited a long time to see those individuals offered by the United Nations system, I asked all brought to trial and it is our hope that they will departments, funds, agencies and programmes not have to wait much longer. in March 2002 to review the assistance that they currently offer. One result of that exercise has Legal affairs been the creation of an easily accessible technical 195. During the past year, the International legal assistance web site, through which Govern- Law Commission advanced its work on reserva- ments can identify and access the assistance that tions to treaties by adopting further guidelines the Organization makes available. That web site on the formulation and communication of reser- now receives some 5,000 to 6,000 hits every vations and interpretative declarations. It consid- month. ered several draft articles on diplomatic protec- 193. Over the past year, the Organization has tion, reviewed progress on the topic of unilateral also taken further steps towards enforcing inter- acts of States and agreed on a conceptual outline national law. In December 2002, the General As- for the topic of international liability in case of sembly asked me to resume negotiations to con- loss from transboundary harm arising out of haz- clude an agreement with the Government of ardous activities. It also appointed special rap- Cambodia on the establishment, with interna- porteurs for two of the new topics in its work tional assistance, of extraordinary chambers programme, namely, the responsibility of inter- within the existing court structure of Cambodia national organizations and shared natural for the prosecution of serious violations of Cam- resources. In the case of the third new topic— bodian law and international law committed dur- fragmentation of international law: difficulties ing the period of Democratic Kampuchea. Those arising out of diversification and expansion of in- negotiations resulted in the preparation of a ternational law—it decided to begin by studying draft agreement between the United Nations and the lex specialis rule and the question of self- Cambodia, signed at Phnom Penh on 17 March contained regimes. Meanwhile, the Ad Hoc Com- 2003. On 13 May 2003, the General Assembly ap- mittee on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and proved the draft agreement and requested me Their Property succeeded, in February 2003, in and the Government of Cambodia to take all the resolving all of the outstanding issues regarding necessary measures for it to enter into force. The the draft articles on the jurisdictional immunities Agreement was signed at a ceremony at Phnom of States and their property that the Interna- Penh on 6 June 2003. tional Law Commission had adopted in 1991 and 194. Much work lies ahead, both for the recommended that the General Assembly now United Nations and for Cambodia, before the take a decision on their final form. Agreement can enter into force. The Govern- 196. In July 2003, the United Nations Com- ment of Cambodia will have to submit the Agree- mission on International Trade Law finalized ment to the relevant national authorities for rati- and adopted its Model Legislative Provisions on fication, take the necessary steps to amend Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects and Cambodian law to bring it into line with the gave preliminary approval to a draft legislative

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 37 guide on insolvency law. The Commission high- and assessment of the state of the marine envi- lighted the importance of strengthening its sec- ronment (Global Marine Assessment). I shall be retariat, within existing resources, so as to help it submitting a report on this last issue to the Gen- respond to the increasing demands on it to de- eral Assembly at its fifty-eighth session. velop uniform commercial legislation, provide 199. During the past year, the Office of Legal technical legislative assistance, disseminate in- formation on the latest legal developments and Affairs provided advice to various Secretariat coordinate its work with other international or- units in connection with the formulation of the ganizations. new Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq, in particular with regard to the operation of the 197. The Sixth Committee of the General As- oil-for-food programme. Also of particular note sembly and the Ad Hoc Committee established was the role that the Office played in developing by General Assembly resolution 51/210 of 17De- cember 1996 continued their efforts to prepare a and implementing a procedure for the election draft comprehensive convention on international of the judges and Prosecutor of the International terrorism and a draft convention for the suppres- Criminal Court and, in conjunction with the sion of acts of nuclear terrorism. Questions of Government of Sierra Leone, implementing the definition and other issues regarding its scope agreement on the establishment of the Special of application, including its relationship with Court for Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, the Office existing and future instruments, stand in the way continued to advise the United Nations Interim of adoption of a comprehensive convention, Administration Mission in Kosovo on the exercise while issues concerning the scope of the draft of its legislative and executive authority and to convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear provide advice and support to the Organization’s terrorism have made it difficult to reach agree- other peacekeeping missions, especially in han- ment on that instrument. Meanwhile, the Ad Hoc dling claims and in concluding and implement- Committee on the Scope of Legal Protection ing arrangements with troop-contributing coun- under the Convention on the Safety of United tries. It also provided advice on a wide range of Nations and Associated Personnel reconvened in other issues of concern to the Organization, in- March 2003. A number of important issues con- cluding procurement, the negotiation of con- cerning measures to enhance the existing legal tracts—many involving complex and novel ques- regime under the Convention still require reflec- tions, in particular those relating to the capital tion by States. I intend to remain actively engaged master plan—and the implementation of person- in this important matter. nel reforms. 198. As far as the law of the sea is concerned, several challenges lie ahead: promoting the sustainable development of ocean resources, Chapter V strengthening implementation of the interna- tional legal obligations of flag States and enhanc- Enhancing management ing inter-agency cooperation. In response to con- cerns regarding inadequate implementation by Administration and management flag States of international rules and standards 200. The delegation of administrative au- for ship safety, pollution prevention, fisheries conservation and labour conditions, I established thority to the departments and offices of the Sec- an Inter-Agency Consultative Group on Flag retariat, with concomitant accountability of pro- State Implementation in March 2003 to study the gramme managers, continues to be strengthened issue. The question of flag State implementation through the implementation of results-based also arose at the fourth meeting of the Open- budgeting and management. The development ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and use of a web-based management perform- and the Law of the Sea, held in June 2003 to con- ance indicator system, with five indicators—re- sider issues relating to safety of navigation, pro- cruitment tracking, status of gender balance, tection of vulnerable marine ecosystems and regular budget expenditures, extrabudgetary re- inter-agency cooperation and coordination. That source expenditures, and implementation of the meeting also highlighted a number of other recommendations in the audits of the Office of issues: transport of hazardous substances; protec- Internal Oversight Services—have provided a tion of biodiversity on the high seas; the need to management tool for the programme managers take further measures to combat illegal, unre- and their executive offices across the Secretariat ported fishing; the need for more effective inter- to implement actions within their programme agency cooperation and coordination; and estab- units that will achieve the objectives of the pro- lishment of a regular process for global reporting gramme.

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Common support services flexible working arrangements which came into 201. The Department of Management and effect on 1 February 2003, Secretariat-wide, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations are part of an effort to assist staff to strike a have engaged in a partnership with a view to better balance between their professional and increasing support to peacekeeping missions personal lives. A priority is the further devel- through the implementation of new arrange- opment and implementation of a Secretariat- ments for field procurement. Clearer lines of re- wide policy on HIV/AIDS that will enhance sponsibility and accountability have been estab- awareness and expand access to voluntary lished and redundant procedures have been counselling and testing, care and treatment. eliminated. Technical and direct procurement 204. The security of United Nations person- support to the peacekeeping missions has in- nel remains an issue of paramount importance. cluded the evaluation of candidates for procure- Regrettably, attacks continued throughout the ment positions in field missions, and the estab- year under review, but new measures put in lishment of training programmes, briefings and place appeared to be having a positive impact. a hotline to support peacekeeping procurement The number of staff members who lost their staff on any procurement-related matter on a lives in the service of the Organization during round-the-clock basis. the 12 months prior to August 2003 was the low- 202. Several common service initiatives, such est since 1992. All this was changed dramatically as the sharing of procurement contracts, the cre- by the devastating attack in Baghdad, on 19 Au- ation of a standardized identity document appli- gust 2003. That shocking incident obliges us to cable throughout the Organization and system- look again at the conditions in which we work wide collective bargaining with international and to consider fundamental changes, however airlines for more favourable fares and conditions sad and painful that may be. are being worked on. Included in these initiatives are organizations that are not a part of the United Capital master plan Nations system, such as the Asian Development 205. The capital master plan approved in Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation 2002 by the General Assembly authorizes the im- and Development, the European Union and plementation of the refurbishment of the Head- Interpol. Such collective endeavours are ex- quarters complex and the remaining phases of pected to lead to a greater consistency of prac- design development. At the Assembly’s request, tices within the Organization and to yield finan- the possibilities for a financial package from the cial benefits. host country, as well as other contributions from the public and private sectors, are being ex- Human resources management plored. New York City has offered to construct a 203. Since the introduction of the new staff new building south of the Headquarters that selectionsystemon1May2002andtherevised would serve as alternate accommodation during performance management appraisal system the renovation and later for the consolidation of (e-PAS), emphasis has been placed on the in- United Nations offices currently scattered in the stitutionalization of these systems, and on im- vicinity of the Secretariat. This generous offer is provements to the information technology very welcome. support tools. The staff selection system has resulted in greater accountability, transparency, Financial situation a faster recruitment process, and a larger pool 206. The positive financial trends of the last of candidates, particularly from developing two years are continuing. All three indicators— countries. The revised electronic e-PAS system, cash in hand, debt to Member States and which supports discussion between supervi- amounts unpaid by Member States—continue to sors and staff, has increased compliance and improve. One particular trend indicates that achieved a more measurable appraisal system there may be problems ahead, however. The throughout the Secretariat and in peace- number of Member States paying their regular keeping missions. Expanded learning and career budget contribution in full is slipping from the support programmes, including mentoring earlier years when steady progress was made. In and career resource centres, are strengthening fact, in 2002, only 117 Member States paid their the skills and competencies of staff and man- regular budget contributions in full, reflecting a agers and contributing to changing the man- serious setback in the progress achieved between agement culture of the Organization. There is 1994, when only 75 Member States paid in full, a particular focus on Junior Professional staff, and 2000, when 141 Member States paid in full. including targeted training courses, mentoring This means that deficits in the regular budget andamanagedreassignmentprogramme.The may occur.

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Accountability and oversight need for an urgent reassessment of the informa- 207. The Office of Internal Oversight Serv- tion centre concept in terms of usefulness and ices is working to strengthen the Organization’s continuing relevance. Significant resources were integrity and ethics systems through the sponsor- spent on the operations of information centres in ship of a United Nations organizational integrity developed countries, and the Office of Internal initiative to increase staff awareness and protect Oversight Services called for a different ap- the Organization’s resources and reputation. proach and a reorientation towards developing The Office is also providing more structured and countries. The Office recommended inter alia integrated planning of its oversight assignments that the Department of Public Information reas- through its risk management framework. Under sess and update the goals and strategies of infor- this framework, a risk analysis is made of all mation centres, and the Department has already the client departments, offices, funds and pro- begun implementing many of the recommenda- grammes of the Office of Internal Oversight Serv- tions. Other audits examined the status of recom- ices to identify and prioritize those programme mendations concerning the liquidation of peace- and operational areas having a high vulnerability keeping missions (A/57/622), the procurement to inefficiencies, fraud, waste and abuse. of goods and services for peacekeeping missions from Governments using letters of assist Monitoring, evaluation and consulting (A/57/718), and the policies and procedures for 208. In the past year, the Office of Internal recruiting staff for the Department of Peace- Oversight Services provided consulting to other keeping Operations (A/57/224). departments on changing their work processes 211. An audit of the International Research and organizational structures with a view to im- and Training Institute for the Advancement of plementing the continuing reform of the Secreta- Women examined the sustainability of the Insti- riat. Working in close collaboration with four tute, and made a series of recommendations to client departments and offices, the Office con- address its financial and operating difficulties. tributed to ensuring the sustainability and effec- As recommended by the Office of Internal Over- tiveness of adopted solutions. In response to a re- sight Services, the Office of the United Nations quest of the General Assembly, a review by the High Commissioner for Refugees changed the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the Of- rules for project agreements with international fice of the United Nations High Commissioner non-governmental organizations. This has re- for Human Rights produced 17 recommenda- sulted in more reliable financial information and tions on streamlining and strengthening its activ- competitive procurement, as well as greater ities and management. transparency in project staff spending. 209. An in-depth evaluation of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Investigations Office of Legal Affairs concluded that it had 212. The Investigations Division is exploring effectively discharged the responsibilities of the ways to deal with the increased volume of allega- Secretary-General under the United Nations tions of misconduct, mismanagement, abuse of Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Office of authority and waste of resources, 20 per cent of Internal Oversight Services recommended that which were categorized as significant to the Or- the Division actively participate in setting up a ganization in 2002, in part through new partner- new international coordination mechanism re- ships with national law enforcement authorities. quested by the General Assembly to better re- For example, in the investigations of refugee spond to the growing demand for technical as- smuggling in East Africa and sexual exploitation sistance from States parties to the Convention. in West Africa, the Division coordinated ad hoc The Office of Internal Oversight Services made task forces, which, in addition to investigators, in- proposals to the Committee for Programme and cluded experts on loan from other agencies or on Coordination for a pilot thematic evaluation in- special service agreements, in areas such as medi- tended to provide a systematic review of the activ- cine, human rights, child and refugee protection, ities carried out by several programmes of the law and sexual abuse counselling. Organization sharing common purposes. 213. In close collaboration with the Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF) of the European Commis- Audit management sion, the Division recovered $4.2 million that had 210. From July 2002 to June 2003, the Inter- been misappropriated by a former senior staff nal Audit Division conducted 101 audits, 5 of member of the United Nations Interim Adminis- which resulted in reports to the General Assem- tration Mission in Kosovo. The investigation led bly. An audit of United Nations information cen- to the successful prosecution of the staff member tres (A/57/747), for example, highlighted the by the German authorities in June 2003. In an

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 40 Report of the Secretary-General effort to establish normative standards, the their use to more than 80 country programmes Fourth Conference of International Investiga- by 2006. tors, hosted by OLAF and held at Brussels in April 217. The reform package also contained sev- 2003, unanimously endorsed the guidelines for eral systemic improvements to the planning and the conduct of investigations by investigators of budgeting process. Initial steps have been taken international and bilateral organizations which to improve the budget documents themselves, had been drafted and presented by the Division. with shorter, more strategic presentations, in particular for peacekeeping operations, and the Strengthening the Organization inclusion of results-based indicators for all pro- 214. The main rationale behind my agenda grammatic areas. Detailed descriptions of other for further change was to align the activities of proposed changes will be contained in other re- the Organization with the priorities agreed upon ports submitted to the General Assembly at its at the Millennium Summit and the global confer- fifty-eighth session. ences. During the first half of 2003, major efforts 218. Efforts to strengthen the Organization were made to ensure that the programme budget ultimately depend on an able, versatile and well- for the biennium 2004-2005 to be presented to managed workforce. Improvements to the man- the General Assembly reflected this alignment. agement of human resources through the new The proposal which will go before the Assembly recruitment and placement system are now later in 2003 includes the reorganization of two showing results. Work is in progress to further re- major departments, the Department of General duce the barriers to staff mobility both within Assembly and Conference Management and the and between United Nations organizations, par- Department of Public Information. I also intend ticularly in the field. Additional measures will be to establish a strategic planning capacity in the taken to grant individual programme managers Department of Economic and Social Affairs, greater decision-making responsibilities. strengthen the management of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Chapter VI Rights and increase investment in support to hu- man rights at the national level. Additional in- Partnerships vestments in staff training and information tech- nology underpin these proposals. Communications 215. There are several areas where the re- 219. Renewed focus and greater clarity of pur- forms have already taken effect. Efforts to im- pose were the twin objectives I mentioned two prove the servicing of the General Assembly, years ago in initiating a comprehensive review of through better planning of meetings and related the work of the Department of Public Informa- documentation, and work to sharpen the focus of tion. A new operating model and a new organiza- our public information activities are beginning to tional structure for the Department have now yield results. The role of the office of the Special been put in place. Activities are now grouped Adviser on Africa has been strengthened to en- more strategically under three Divisions. A Stra- sure a coherent and integrated approach to tegic Communications Division responsible for United Nations deliberations, reports and advo- devising and disseminating information on pri- cacy in support of Africa and in the follow-up to ority themes, and an Outreach Division, which the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. develops supportive partnerships with civil soci- 216. In other instances, work is under way,but ety, have been established, while the existing not yet complete. For example plans to strengthen News and Media Division has been reorganized actions relating to human rights at the country to increase its capacity to deliver timely, accurate, level, the clarification of roles and responsibili- objective and balanced news. ties in the area of technical cooperation, efforts to 220. The key element in the new operating streamline reporting and publications, and the model is the identification of Secretariat depart- work of a high-level panel to review the relation- ments as departmental “clients” that establish ship between the Organization and civil society their own communications priorities based on will require additional work. The funds and pro- priorities laid down by the General Assembly, grammes have made considerable progress in which the Department of Public Information strengthening their country-level impact by de- then communicates strategically to various target veloping collaborative programming and bud- audiences. Once established, these priorities geting tools for joint programming and pooling form the basis of issues-driven promotional cam- of resources. The new programming tools will be paigns, implemented using all the media assets introduced in 2003, with the aim of expanding of the Department, including print, radio, televi-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 Report of the Secretary-General 41 sion and the Internet. Strategic partnerships 224. The United Nations is making increas- with the Member States, civil society, the private ing use of webcasting—live broadcasting over the sector and academic institutions will also serve to Internet of meetings and events. On 7 March, disseminate the messages both internationally 24,000 users in 66 countries watched the webcast and, at the local level, through the United of the Security Council meeting on Iraq live, and Nations information centres. In a clear endorse- many more accessed the images later. An Arabic ment of the new strategic direction, the Commit- version of the United Nations News Centre web tee on Information at its twenty-fifth session, in site has been added to the French and English April/May 2003, welcomed the restructuring of sites, and sites in the other official languages are the Department of Public Information, includ- now in preparation. A measure of the success of ing its new operating model and organizational the Centre is the growing number of news outlets structure. and web sites that refer to the United Nations 221. The Department is also engaged in stra- News Service as the source of the material they tegic partnerships with entities within the publish. United Nations system. A new communications 225. United Nations Radio has firmly estab- strategy is being developed for the World Sum- lished itself as one of the important traditional mit on the Information Society, to be held at multimedia channels for strategically communi- Geneva in December 2003 in cooperation with cating the activities and concerns of the Organi- the International Telecommunication Union. zation to audiences in all regions of the world. A The Department is also working towards engag- recent survey offered a conservative estimate that ing the media as stakeholders in the information some 133 million people listen to United Nations society, and emphasizing the role of freedom of Radio programmes at least once a week in the six speech and the press. In association with the tele- official languages, as well as in Portuguese and vision industry and the Government of Switzer- Kiswahili. Since April 2003, 10 new official televi- land, the Department is organizing a parallel sion partners have joined in the dissemination of event at the Summit, the World Electronic Media United Nations Television and have aired about Forum, which will focus on the role of the elec- 50 hours of United Nations programming to tronic media in the information society. some 2 billion viewers. 226. The Department of Public Information 222. As part of an invigorated strategy of out- has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at reach to non-State actors, in November 2002 the strengthening the Organization’s public infor- Department constituted a Civil Society Service in mation capacities in its peacekeeping and politi- the Outreach Division, charged with integrating cal missions in the field. Standard operating pro- all programmes servicing non-governmental or- cedures for field-based public information units ganizations, educational institutions and the gen- are being prepared, in close collaboration with eral public, as well as initiating and fostering the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. By partnerships with new entities, including those agreement with the Department of Peacekeeping in the private sector and the media. A new Educa- Operations, a public information expert is now tional Outreach Section in that Service orients stationed at the United Nations Logistics Base at key products, including the flagship publication Brindisi, Italy,to aid in the development of a pub- UN Chronicle, the multimedia UN Works pro- lic information training capacity. A roster of pub- gramme and the global teaching and learning lic information personnel for rapid deployment project, Cyberschoolbus, to the needs of students has been established, and a training programme and teachers the world over. for rapidly deployable field personnel is in prep- 223. Using new technologies, the Depart- aration. The Department has also organized the ment continues to provide audiences worldwide dispatch of a senior public information officer to with instant access to the latest news about the assess the situation on the ground in Côte United Nations. On 5 February 2003, the United d’Ivoire and to provide recommendations on Nations web site reached a new milestone when it local media development, which have been used was accessed more than 10 million times in a sin- to guide regional inter-agency efforts to address gle 24-hour period. The number of times the site media issues in that country. is accessed has grown from more than 11.5 mil- 227. In my report entitled “Strengthening of lion in 1996 to some 1,695 million hits in 2002, the United Nations: an agenda for further owing in part to the addition of material in all of change”, I proposed the rationalization of the the official languages. Since September 2002 network of United Nations information centres over 28,000 links have been provided to parlia- around regional hubs, starting with the creation mentary documents on the Official Document of a Western European hub. The Secretariat is System. implementing a plan for the establishment of the

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 42 Report of the Secretary-General proposed hub in Western Europe by the begin- 2002. These projects have strengthened the na- ning of 2004 and, in parallel, is closing nine tional health systems of target countries with existing information centres in that region. continuing training of health-care workers, the 228. A noteworthy achievement of the Dag promotion of injection safety and the inclusion in Hammarskjöld Library, launched on 7 February the measles campaigns of other health activities, 2003, was the redesigned interface to its main such as vitamin A supplementation, immuniza- databases, UNBISnet, which is now more power- tion against polio and the distribution of bed nets ful and easier to search. Important reference to prevent malaria. As a result of the $82 million tools, such as the United Nations Documentation made available in 2002 through the efforts of the Research Guide and the United Nations confer- Foundation and UNFIP, all but seven countries ences and observances page, have been updated worldwide are now free of polio. and on 27 March the UNBIS Thesaurus was 233. Biodiversity emerged as a central prior- launched. It is fully electronic and, like the Docu- ity of the World Summit on Sustainable Develop- mentation Research Guide and the conferences ment, which underlined the importance of pro- and observances page, is available in all six offi- viding and sustaining the livelihoods of poor cial languages. rural communities. Funding provided by UNFIP 229. A major development for United and the Foundation to the United Nations Envi- Nations libraries was the formation in March ronment Programme catalysed a major initiative 2003 of the Steering Committee for the Modern- in May 2003, targeted at reversing the decline of ization and Integrated Management of United coral reefs. In September 2002, UNFIP also facili- Nations Libraries, under the leadership of the tated a partnership between the Department of Department of Public Information. This initia- Economic and Social Affairs and the E7—an um- tive is intended to create a more modern, effi- brella organization of nine electric utilities in cient and accessible system of library services Japan, Europe and North America—to work to- throughout the Organization. gether to expand the access to electricity of the 230. The Cartographic Section of the Depart- poor. ment continues to provide valuable technical as- 234. The United Nations Fund for Interna- sistance to the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Com- tional Partnerships also provided advice to the mission in its preparation for the demarcation of private sector and foundations on partnerships the international boundary between the two with the United Nations system, including guid- countries, following the successful delimitation ance on policies and procedures and suggestions of the boundary in April 2002. United Nations on strategic ways for corporations and founda- cartographers also helped the Cameroon- tions to support the Millennium Development Nigeria Mixed Commission in developing a work Goals. The Fund is also engaged in establishing plan for the demarcation of the international ties with numerous organizations that aim to boundary between those two countries in Febru- raise funds for the causes of the Organization. ary 2003. The Section will, however, be trans- ferred to the Department of Peacekeeping Oper- Project services ations in 2004. 235. In 2002, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) acquired a total of $509 United Nations Fund for million in new business for its project portfolio. International Partnerships Business acquired from UNDP amounted to 231. Through the successful partnership of $334.2 million or 66 per cent, a balance amount- the United Nations Fund for International Part- ing to $174.9 million or 34 per cent coming from nerships (UNFIP) and the United Nations Foun- other entities within the United Nations system. dation, $489 million has been programmed, as On the loan portfolio, the International Fund for at 31 December 2002, for 251 projects worldwide Agricultural Development entrusted project su- in four programme areas, namely, children’s pervision and loan administration responsibili- health; population and women; environment; ties to UNOPS for 14 additional projects totalling and peace, security and human rights. Other $225 million in the course of 2002, compared to multilateral and bilateral donors provided ap- $328 million in 2001. proximately $175 million in additional funding 236. The United Nations Office for Project for programmes and projects supported by Services continued to support the mine action UNFIP and the Foundation. programmes of three major clients—UNDP, the 232. The projects that comprised the UNFIP Mine Action Service and the Office of the Iraq children’s health programme have contributed to Programme—in 18 countries around the world. preventing the death of 240,000 children by pro- That role expanded significantly in the course of viding 37 million vaccinations against measles in the year, with increased activities in northern

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Iraq, new responsibilities for the existing pro- Civil society and business partnerships gramme in Afghanistan, and the formulation of 240. In my report entitled “Strengthening of new programmes, which are expected to expand, the United Nations: an agenda for further in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the change”, I highlighted the engagement of civil Sudan. society as an aspect of the United Nations reform 237. A new form of partnership was initiated process and announced that I would assemble a in 2002 with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tu- group of eminent persons representing a variety berculosis and Malaria. In April 2003, UNOPS was of perspectives and experiences to review past designated by the Fund as one of the four pre- and current practices and recommend improve- qualified Local Fund Agents, its task being to ments to make the interaction between civil soci- provide management services and to supervise, ety and the United Nations more meaningful. In on behalf of the Fund, the implementation of na- February 2003 I appointed Fernando Enrique tionally executed programmes financed by the Cardoso, former President of Brazil, to chair the Fund. To date, UNOPS has signed agreements High-level Panel on Civil Society, comprising 12 with or has been designated to be the Local Fund individuals with backgrounds spanning the gov- Agent for China, India, Mongolia, Serbia and ernmental and non-governmental sectors. Montenegro and Timor-Leste, and negotiations 241. The main task of the Panel is to produce a for similar work in other countries are under way. set of practical recommendations on how the Or- Elsewhere, UNOPS is exploring options to assist ganization’s relationship with civil society, and the Fund’s operations by supporting principal re- with the private sector and parliaments, could be cipients in the implementation of project activi- improved. In particular, the Panel will identify ties. best practices in the Organization and other in- 238. In May 2003, the Joint United Nations ternational organizations with a view to identify- Programme on HIV/AIDS entrusted to UNOPS the ing new and better ways of interacting with civil implementation of a project entitled “AIDS in Af- society. The Panel will also examine ways in rica: scenarios for the future”, developed and which the participation of civil society actors funded in partnership with Shell United King- from developing countries can be facilitated. At dom. The project aims at responding to the im- its first meeting, held in New York on 2 and 3 pact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and June 2003, the Panel agreed upon a work pro- forming a shared understanding of the problem. gramme that emphasizes an open, transparent Other objectives are to help to activate a broad- and consultative process. The Panel will submit based response from all segments of society and its final report in April 2004. to overcome the stigma and discrimination expe- 242. In the past year the Organization forged rienced by HIV-positive individuals. The Global several new partnerships. This was an important Business Development division of Shell Interna- innovation of the World Summit on Sustainable tional will support the project through technical Development, during which more than 200 part- know-how and contributions to the budget. nerships were launched by a wide variety of stake- 239. An example of combining private sector holders, including various agencies, funds and expertise with United Nations goals is the UNDP programmes within the Organization. These Human Development Programme in Angola, the partnerships were aimed at implementing sus- execution of which is entrusted to UNOPS and tainable development through various means which is supported by the Italian private sector such as capacity-building, education and improv- firm Coop, a consortium of over 200 consumer ing access to information. The Organization cooperatives. Under the programme, which aims must ensure that the partnerships are successful to improve the lives of the children in Angola, and help in the effective implementation of the 100,000 children were vaccinated and 6,000 chil- commitments made at the Summit. dren obtained a daily meal, on a budget of 243. The Organization continued to strengthen $260,715. UNOPS is facilitating the link between its partnership with the private sector. During Coop and the local economic development agen- the reporting period, the number of companies cies created by the Human Development Pro- participating in the Global Compact doubled gramme with the objective of bringing Angolan from approximately 500 to more than 1,000, coffee to the Italian market, establishing viable more than half of which were in developing trade relations and creating synergies between countries in all regions of the world. At the same development assistance and the private sector. time, the Global Compact was launched in 14 Similar arrangements are being made in the countries, bringing to more than 50 the number framework of other UNDP-funded projects to be of countries where the Global Compact has taken executed by UNOPS in Mozambique and South root. Moreover, the United Nations Industrial Africa. Development Organization (UNIDO) was wel-

YUN03— 4th proofs May 2 2005 44 Report of the Secretary-General comed as an additional member of the Global companies together with other stakeholders to Compact’s core group of agencies, until then con- identify business opportunities in the least de- sisting of the Office of the United Nations High veloped countries that will be sustainable and Commissioner for Human Rights, the Interna- will be designed in ways to help local small and tional Labour Organization, UNDP and UNEP. medium-sized enterprises. The core group of agencies supports the Com- 245. To enable the Global Compact to accom- pact by providing training materials on its princi- plish its objective of helping to create a more sus- ples and supporting outreach activities. UNIDO tainable and inclusive global economy and to will be responsible for small and medium-sized ensure that the Compact’s new strategy of “com- enterprises. munication on progress” has a significant impact, 244. In January 2003, the Global Compact the Organization must continue to give the adopted a new strategic approach to conducting Global Compact the creative space it needs to its operations whereby companies are asked to grow. publish a “communication on progress” in their annual or other prominent reports to increase transparency and public accountability. A signif- icant element of this strategic approach is its Conclusion emphasis on policy dialogues within multi- 246. In the perspective of human experience stakeholder forums to identify and address prob- one year is a fleeting moment. It will not be possi- lems in areas of interest to the international com- ble for some time to make final judgements on munity. During the reporting period, the Global many of the activities of the United Nations. It is Compact convened policy dialogues on business clear, nevertheless, that the Organization is con- and sustainable development in 2002; and tributing to international stability and progress HIV/AIDS in the workplace and supply chain in positive and practical ways, and that it is mak- management and partnerships in 2003, involving ing a real difference in the lives of individual peo- participants from business, labour and civil soci- ple around the world. ety. These dialogues have resulted in joint initia- 247. The record of the United Nations activi- tives such as the development and application of a ties has also shown that the system is exceedingly business guide to help companies to ensure that flexible. The Organization will need to maintain their behaviour is not negatively contributing to its capacity to adapt to new challenges and global conflicts; a common set of recommendations on conditions, while remaining faithful to the pur- how companies, non-governmental organiza- tions, Governments and intergovernmental or- poses and principles of the Charter. ganizations can contribute to greater transpar- 248. Despite its imperfections, the United ency and help to combat corruption; and an Nations still embodies the hopes of the peoples initiative on promoting awareness about HIV/ of the world for a peaceful and just world. This AIDS in the workplace. An initiative to encourage review of the Organization’s work in the past year sustainable business in the world’s least de- should contribute to a better understanding of veloped countries was launched in Ethiopia, and the role which the United Nations plays in global activities are planned for Angola, Bangladesh, affairs, in particular as an effective instrument of Cambodia and Madagascar. The initiative brings international cooperation.

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