UN Radio: Annan Calls for Aid Trade With Africa

UN Radio: Annan Calls On Countries To Aid Trade With Africa

Annan Calls on Developed Countries to Do More on Aid, Trade for Africa

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that if the challenges of Africa are to be met, developed countries also need to do a lot more -on aid, trade, and debt relief. In a message to an international conference on African development in Tokyo, the secretary-general said there has been some progress in making official development assistance more effective.
But he noted that overall aid levels are still too low, and the principle of African ownership is still too often compromised. Mr. Annan stressed that the aid developed countries give is often undercut by their trade policies - particularly by agricultural subsidies which, he added, hinder Africa's ability to export its way out of poverty and dependence.

UNDP Chief Raps Double-Standard over Aid to Africa

The head of the UN Development Programme has rapped the double-standard over global aid to Africa and Iraq, saying the world merely lacks the political will to help the continent out of poverty. UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown said that in the case of Africa, "all to often one hears the argument that Africa can't get more assistance because of problems of governance, economic mis-management or civil wars." Yet in the case of Iraq, he said, "its very chaos is put forward as a case for giving it amounts of money….despite the fact that it is a middle-income oil producing country." Mr. Brown made his comments in Tokyo where he's attending a three-day conference on African development.

UN Official Calls for Urgent Support for Transition to Democracy in Guinea-Bissau

There's an urgent need for the international community to help ensure a successful transition to constitutional order and democracy in Guinea-Bissau. Assistant-Secretary-General Tuliameni Kalomoh says Guinea-Bissau's political parties, the military and civil society have pulled back from the brink following the military coup two weeks ago. And, he adds, they have agreed on a truce and consensus solution for the political transition.

"There now seems to be an atmosphere of give-and-take, which augurs well for the immediate future. But serious social and economic tensions persist and will require careful management. by the leaders of Guinea Bissau."

The comments came during an open meeting of the Security Council on Guinea-Bissau.

UN Peacekeeping Mission to Begin Work Wednesday in Liberia

A new UN mission begins work this week. The UN mission of Liberia starts its work Wednesday as troops from the West African contingents currently serving in Liberia will begin working under UN command - a process sometimes called re-hatting. A UN spokesman says that some 3,500 troops from eight West African countries will be re-hatted to become the first UN peacekeepers in the country out of a force of up to 15,000 troops authorised by the UN Security Council. The spokesman says the West African troops will be joined within two weeks by a battalion from Bangladesh.

UNESCO Opens General Conference, Welcomes Back US as a Member

The head of UNESCO - the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said the numerous conflicts over the last two years have plunged the United Nations into the most serious crisis in its history. Koichiro Matsuura said the crises have forced the UN to question more than ever the capacity of its institutions to reflect the world's new realities.
The UNESCO chief made his remarks at the opening of its biannual general conference Monday, which this year, is being marked by the return of the United States to UNESCO after a 19- year absence. United States First Lady Laura Bush said that given the many challenges in the world today, UNESCO's work is more urgent and more important than at any time in the organisation's history.

"UNESCO was born of the conviction that peace and security for all nations and all peoples will be advanced when ignorance, suspicion and mistrust are replaced with education, respect and tolerance."

Mrs. Bush said UNESCO could now help achieve peace by spreading the values that will help defeat terror and lead to a better and safer world. UN To Make Crucial Decisions in Response To New Global Challenges: Bosnia And Herzegovina

The General Assembly resumed debate Monday morning on issues of national, regional and international concern. Over the past week, the central role of the United Nations in resolving the world's multiple crises was the common theme among speakers. During debate Monday, member States again highlighted the relevance of the United Nations.

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