The year 2004: responding to challenges.

In an increasingly complex international environment, the United Nations in 2004 addressed the many challenges it faced, especially on peace and security, such as the threats posed by international terrorism, conflict situations, the potential proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related problems of transnational organized crime, as well as corruption and trafficking in and abuse of illicit drugs. The UN High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, charged with evaluating the effectiveness of the UN framework in meeting such challenges, put forward a new vision of collective security and made recommendations for future policy responses and for strengthening the Organization through institutional reform. The Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations also made recommendations for enhancing the participation of civil society in UN deliberations and actions to further strengthen global governance.

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In its continuing war against international terrorism, the United Nations in 2004 took action to impose punitive measures against individuals and entities associated with terrorist activities and to strengthen the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee. However, UN efforts to address the many conflict situations met with mixed results. While it achieved success in helping to restore political stability in some countries, especially Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, the United Nations had to act swiftly in response to the tense situation in Cote d'Ivoire, the outbreak of new violence in Haiti and the urgent need for peacebuilding assistance in Burundi. It responded by establishing in quick succession an unprecedented three new peacekeeping operations, bringing the number of peacekeeping missions to 16, served by a combined total of some 65,000 military and civilian personnel compared to 46,000 the previous year. By year's end, it was faced with yet another crisis situation in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

In the Middle East, no progress was made in getting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track or in stemming the continuing violence. Nevertheless, the Israeli Parliament in October approved a unilateral initiative to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and areas in the northern part of the West Bank. In November, security cooperation between the two sides resumed following the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, raising new hopes for peace. Concerned over political developments in Lebanon, the Security Council called for free and fair presidential elections, the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country and the disbandment and disarmament of militias.

In Asia and the Pacific, despite security constraints, the United Nations continued to provide reconstruction assistance to Iraq, Afghanistan and Timor-Leste, and assisted them in their electoral processes. In Europe and the Mediterranean, progress was made in stabilizing Bosnia and Herzegovina and in helping the Kosovo province of Serbia and Montenegro to establish institutions of provisional self-government, but the situation in the Abkhaz region of Georgia continued to deteriorate. UN efforts to reunite the island of Cyprus failed, as the referendums to decide that issue, based on the Foundation Agreement for a unified government, was approved by the Turkish Cypriot electorate, but rejected by the Greek Cypriots. The Secretary-General thus ended his mission of good offices in Cyprus, but agreed to maintain contact with both sides.

The United Nations also sought solutions to economic and social problems, such as poverty, hunger, unsafe drinking water, environmental degradation and endemic or infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, by working to implement the Millennium Development Goals. While there had been some successes, progress in achieving these goals remained mixed. In June, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) considered ways to enhance the international monetary, financial and trading systems, to better serve development and identified new trade problems and ways to tackle them. The deadlock in the multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Work Programme of the World Trade Organization was broken, enabling agreement on future negotiations.

During 2004, the UN system increased its developmental assistance to developing and transition countries by 24 per cent, to $4.2 billion. It provided $2.2 billion to meet the needs of the millions of people worldwide affected by humanitarian and natural disasters and in need of special economic assistance, as well as addressed the needs of 19.2 million refugees and displaced persons. The year ended on a tragic note on 26 December with the unprecedented tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions in at least 12 nations. The UN system responded quickly by initiating plans for long-term humanitarian assistance to affected regions.