S/2002/1420
Letter dated 23 December 2002 from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour to convey the attached communication, dated 20 December 2002, which I received from the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would bring the present letter and its annex to the attention of the members of the Security Council.

(Signed) Kofi A. Annan

Annex

Letter dated 20 December 2002 from the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization addressed to

The Landmine Update is the International Campaign to Ban Landmines quarterly newsletter. This edition is followed by a calendar of upcoming events (available online). To date, 130 countries have ratified the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and an additional 16 have signed it. The most recent accessions are Afghanistan (11 September), Comoros (19 September) and Central African Republic (8 November), while recent ratifications include Cameroon (19 September) and Gambia (23 September).

Sarajevo/Zagreb/Pristina/Brussels, 13 December 2002: In three comprehensive reports released today,* the International Crisis Group (ICG) assesses progress on refugee returns in Bosnia and Herzegovnia, Croatia, and Kosovo. Ensuring that large numbers of refugees can exercise their right to return with security to the homes they lost in wartime remains fundamental to building a stable region, fully integrated into European institutions. The three are at different stages of post-war reconstruction and political development but common themes on the issue of returns can be identified.

SG/Inf(2002)50 2 December 2002
October 2002 in Tirana

Political Overview

Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Croatia today for talks with senior government officials, wrapping up his official visit through the Balkans.
Upon arriving at Zagreb International Airport, the Secretary-General dedicated a memorial to remember the UN personnel who had lost their lives while serving in the former Yugoslavia, a UN spokesperson said in New York.

In his remarks to the dedication ceremony, Mr. Annan said that a new era was emerging in the region since their sacrifice. "Even at the darkest hour of the conflict, it was the hope of a new

Unmet Needs Put Refugees at Risk
Programs to assist and protect refugees worldwide currently face a financial crisis. Funding by donor nations for international refugee programs has been seriously inadequate during 2002, triggering major assistance cutbacks in refugee camps around the world.

The primary agency mandated to protect and assist refugees worldwide, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), currently has a funding shortfall of nearly $200 million and expects to end the year some $170 million short of the $1.04 billion needed to address

Bosnia's raped women are being shunned by a society that refuses to see them as victims.
By Belma Becirbasic and Dzenana Secic in Sarajevo

Nine-year-old Edin is one of thousands of children in Bosnia growing up without a father. But while others have a grave to visit, or photographs to treasure, Edin has neither. His mother Safeta has one single, terrible memory of his father. "He lit a candle or a lighter and made his choice," she said. "He was a Serb from Zemun. Even 20 years from now I'd recognise him."

Safeta is a "raped woman",

GA/EF/3723
GA/SHC/3723
Fifty-seventh General Assembly
Third Committee
47th and 48th Meetings (AM & PM)

As the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) continued its consideration of questions related to refugees and displaced persons in two meetings today, several delegations stressed the burden of hosting refugees and the associated "host-fatigue", as well as the chronic budget shortages of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), aggravating the suffering of uprooted people and host countries.

ZAGREB, 31 October 2002 - The OSCE Mission to Croatia welcomed on Thursday the Government's adoption of a refugee project that will facilitate the return of occupied properties to their owners.
The Mission also recalls that as of today owners whose occupied property has not been physically returned by the Government are entitled to state compensation.

The Sustainable Return of Refugees and Expelled Persons Project envisages that by the end of 2003 housing will be provided for almost four thousands families currently occupying private