Challenging times ahead for peacekeeping operations.

United Nations activities in peace and security focussed on the prevention and resolution of conflict and the provision of assistance to post-conflict societies across the globe. In 2004, complex peacekeeping operations will face many interrelated challenges, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; humanitarian assistance; institution-building; strengthening the rule of law; electoral assistance in post-conflict environments; and demining activities. It is often dangerous work, and last year, 86 uniformed and civilian staff lost their lives while working in UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.

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As of mid-June, the United Nations administers 16 peacekeeping operations on three continents that deploy approximately 60,000 military personnel and civilian police. The number of operations has significantly increased, which will stretch the UN system to the limits of its capacity.

MIDDLE EAST

Hailing an end to the occupation of Iraq, the UN Security Council on 28 June welcomed the handover earlier that day of full responsibility and authority to the country's "fully sovereign and independent" interim Government, while condemning the ongoing violence. In a press statement read by Council President Lauro L. Baja, Jr. of the Philippines, members also underscored the proposed timetable for the political transition, the possibility of an international meeting and "the leading role of the United Nations to assist the interim Government of Iraq in implementing the political process" with elections to be held no later than the end of January 2005. "The members of the Council call on all Iraqis to implement these arrangements peaceably and in full", and all States and relevant organizations were also called upon to support the interim Government in this process, Ambassador Baja said.

On 8 June, the Council had unanimously adopted resolution 1546 (2004), endorsing a timetable for the political transition of Iraqi sovereignty from the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to an interim Government of Iraq by 30 June, when CPA would cease to exist. The multinational force will stay in Iraq at the request of the interim Government, and its mandate could be reviewed or terminated before its scheduled expiration in December 2005 should Iraq ask for it. The resolution also gives Iraqis authority over oil and gas revenues, although the International Advisory and Monitoring Board will continue to audit the account.

According to the resolution the United Nations will help convene a national conference, assist in the organization of elections to be held no later than January 2005, and help draft a constitution. The Secretary-General said the resolution was a "genuine expression" of the international community's will "to come together again after last year's divisions and to help the Iraqi people take charge of their own political destiny, in peace and freedom, under a sovereign government of their choosing."

A United Nations report on the human rights situation in Iraq, documenting alleged violations and recommending steps to prevent them from recurring, was released on 4 June.

In response to press allegations of corruption in the Oil-for-Food programme, Mr. Annan set up an independent inquiry panel in April 2004. Established in 1996 to ease the pain of sanctions, the programme enabled the country to use a portion of its oil revenues to purchase humanitarian relief, which helped 27 million Iraqis. It was monitored by a Security Council committee that included all of its 15 members. The Secretary-General has pledged to deal severely with any staff member found guilty of wrongdoing.

Concerned by the recent demolition of homes in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, the Security Council called on Israel to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law. It adopted a resolution expressing its grave concern regarding the humanitarian situation of Palestinians made homeless in the Rafah area, and calling for the provision of emergency assistance. The United Nations estimates that 3,451 Palestinians were rendered homeless in May 2004.

CENTRAL AFRICA 

On 21 May, the Security Council established the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) to support the country in the implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. Established for an initial period of six months, the Operation was deployed on 1 June and includes 5,650 military personnel, as well as civilian police and civilian staff. ONUB, in cooperation with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), monitors cross-border movements of armed elements and arms trafficking. It will also support the disarming of militia groups, train the Burundi National Police, promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, and provide electoral support. The Secretary-General said ONUB is a "unique opportunity to further pursue national reconciliation and facilitate the preparation of national elections".

A United Nations human rights team was sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to investigate allegations of human rights violations in the eastern town of Bukavu. Contrary to allegations, the team reported that no genocide had taken place in the region during the insurgencies that began on 26 May 2004.

With mutineer-led insurgent fighters still present in the eastern region of the DRC, the transitional government has built up its own force of 20,000 troops in the area, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region said on 21 June. The insurgency, led by dissident Gen. Laurent Nkunda and Col. Jules Mutebutsi, is the most serious crisis ever experienced by the Kinshasa Government and it has been intensified by the rhetoric emerging from both the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda, Mission chief William Lacy Swing said. Fear of renewed fighting in the eastern region has brought the number of refugees in Burundi to more than 30,000.

HORN OF AFRICA 

The Secretary-General recently called on Eritrea and Ethiopia to engage constructively with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). He expressed concern regarding verbal attacks on the UN mission and the restrictions imposed upon it, which could endanger the lives of UN personnel and limit their effectiveness. He said he hoped that the Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia would allow UNMEE the freedom of movement and the cooperation needed to carry out its mandate in accordance with the December 2000 Algiers Agreements and Security Council resolutions.

Somalia is also on the agenda of the Secretary-General, who called on local leaders to show the political will needed for reconciliation and the establishment of a transitional federal government by the end of July 2004. Mr. Annan appealed to the Security Council and suggested the establishment of an arms embargo monitoring group to speed up the process.

In mid-June, the Council endorsed Mr. Annan's proposal to send an advance team to Sudan ahead of a planned political mission. Expectations are on the rise that a peace deal will be signed to end the long civil war in the country's south. The Council is ready to consider creating a UN peace support operation to help implement a comprehensive peace agreement, and the Secretary-General plans to appoint Jan Pronk of the Netherlands as his Special Representative and head of the operation.

On 21 June, Mr. Annan stated that any peace accord in southern Sudan would be fragile unless the humanitarian crisis in the western region of Darfur is also resolved. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that over 150,000 refugees have crossed into neighbouring Chad to escape from atrocities committed in Darfur by government-allied militias known as the "Janjaweed". An estimated 1 million individuals have become internally displaced since last year. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Asma Jahangir, toured Sudan for 13 days and was "alarmed by the gravity of the human rights abuses perpetrated" in the country. UN agencies are making progress in bringing food and shelter to the internally displaced and refugees. However, the rainy season has made roads inaccessible, hampering the delivery of life-sustaining aid and generating breeding grounds for infectious diseases, such as measles and malaria.

WEST AFRICA

Fourteen members of the Security Council embarked on a fact-finding mission to seven West African countries from 20 to 29 June. The mission observed UN peacekeeping operations in Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone, also making stops in Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria.

In Cote d'Ivoire, Council members called on the signatories of the Linas-Marcoussis peace agreement of May 2003 to keep the national reconciliation process on track. The United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) was established on 4 April 2004 to monitor the peace agreement.

The Liberian Transitional Government requested the Security Council to lift sanctions imposed in 2003 on timber and diamonds. However, on 17 June the Council kept the sanctions in place and re-established a panel of experts to investigate their implementation. The panel reported that sanctions have contributed significantly to ending the Liberia's armed conflicts, in its assessment progress made by the Transitional Government to establish a certification process for rough diamonds--a condition for sanctions to be lifted. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was established by the Council in September 2003 after the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement to monitor its implementation and support the Transitional Government.

Phasing out continues for the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), established by the Council in 1999 to assist in the implementation of the Lome Peace Agreement. The Mission is gradually handing security primacy to the Government.

On 17 June, the Security Council applauded Guinea-Bissau for installing a new government and a National Assembly, as well as for making progress towards organizing presidential elections by March 2005. Nevertheless, deep-rooted structural weaknesses remain, such as persistent economic and social crisis. The Council also praised the United Nations Peace-Building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) and other UN offices for their work in the country.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

On 21 June, Jean Arnault, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to stabilize the region in the run-up to the planned presidential and parliamentary elections in September. Despite a volatile security environment, voter registration continues throughout the country, indicating that Afghans strongly desire political participation. Afghan leaders have requested the help of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to draft domestic laws against terrorism and international organized crime. Afghanistan is the world's largest opium producer.

On 19 May, the United Nations Mission of Support in Timor-Leste (UNMISET) handed over official responsibility for policing and external security to the Government of the world's newest nation and youngest democracy. A few days later, on 25 May, Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Sukehiro Hasegawa of Japan as his Special Representative and head of UNMISET, succeeding Kamalesh Sharma of India. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Hasegawa was the Deputy Special Representative and the Resident Coordinator of the UN Development Programme in Timor-Leste.

EUROPE

The Secretary-General appointed Soren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark to replace Harri Holkeri as his Special Representative for Kosovo and the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). United Nations police in the country have arrested about 270 people in connection with the two days of deadly riots and ethnically-motivated violence between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs in mid-March. The attacks killed 19 persons, injured hundreds and damaged homes and Serbian cultural and religious sites.

On 11 June, the Security Council extended the mandate of the United National Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 15 December 2004. Initially deployed in 1964, UNFICYP supervises ceasefire lines, maintains the buffer zone and carries out humanitarian programmes. In April 2004, hopes of a political breakthrough were dashed when the Greek Cypriot community rejected a plan presented by the Secretary-General to reunify the island before its entry into the European Union in May. Mr. Annan remains convinced that UNFICYP continues to be necessary for the maintenance of the ceasefire.

LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN

The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1542 (2004) on 30 April to deploy an assistance mission to help restore sustainable peace in Haiti following a civil war in February that destabilized the region. On 25 June, authority was transferred to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) from the Multinational Interim Force authorized by the Council in February to restore peace after the resignation of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The Mission's mandate entails providing assistance to the transitional government in the organization of free and fair elections by 2005. MINUSTAH should establish a secure and stable environment, foster democratic governance and institutional development, strengthen the rule of law and support the country's human rights institutions and groups.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched a project in Haiti to prevent the spread of the disease so as to benefit not only MINUSTAH personnel but also the Haitian community.

Coordinated by Consuelo Remmert