Six leaders of southeast Europe, scene of the worst religious and ethnic fighting in the continent since World War II, have pledged to close the bitter chapter of the past with a new culture of dialogue under a declaration adopted at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Tirana, Albania.

In the Tirana Summit Declaration on Inter-Religious and Inter-Ethnic Dialogue in Southeast Europe, the participants "reaffirm that mutual respect, rooted in open dialogue and nourished by multi-ethnicity, multi-culturality and multi-religiosity is indispensable for the preservation of peace."

New Global Report Finds Child Soldiers In Over 20 Conflicts Worldwide

LONDON - Governments are undermining progress in ending the use of children as soldiers, said a coalition of the world's leading human rights and humanitarian organizations in a newly published report.

The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers today released the most comprehensive global survey of child soldiers to date. It said that children are fighting in almost every major conflict,

SKOPJE, Oct 18 (AFP) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, who is also president of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Monday the OSCE had completed its Balkan mission and could look at exit strategies.

Passy announced "mission completed" during a press conference in the Macedonian capital of Skopje after talks with Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva.

"The OSCE has completed an important and fruitful job here and we consider that it is high time the missions

UNMIK/PR/1226

SKOPJE - SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen called for closer ties between Kosovo and the Macedonian authorities, emphasizing the European perspective for the region. Mr. Jessen-Petersen was received by Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister Hari Kostov and Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva to discuss regional cooperation and issues of mutual interest to Pristina and Skopje. The SRSG also met with ethnic Albanian political leaders Ali Ahmeti, head of the Democratic Union for Integration, and Arben Xhaferi, chairman of the Democratic Party of Albanians.

Europe Briefing
OVERVIEW

While Macedonia has had a reasonably good year, the survival of the state in its present form -- a key element of stability in the fragile Western Balkans -- is still not completely assured. The country overcame political tragedy to demonstrate it could elect a new president peacefully and fairly, and it has remained calm and focused on its own issues rather than being distracted by troubles in neighbouring Kosovo, but it faces an immediate test of its commitment to the inter-ethnic compromise that cut off the incipient civil war in 2001. And both Skopje

I. Introduction

It is an understatement to say that the presence of small arms and light weapons is a significant problem in the Balkans. Guns contributed significantly to the violence, death, and destruction that surrounded the inter-ethnic conflicts of the 1990s and early 21st century. Since the conclusion of hostilities, the effects of violent conflict persist in the area, as does the circulation of many small arms and light weapons. In fact, these weapons continue to cause civilian injuries and deaths, constrain social and economic development, enhance criminal capability,

Executive Summary
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT STUDY is to analyze conflict-induced displacement from the point of view of vulnerability, using a multifaceted definition of vulnerability. As many as 10 million people have been displaced by war in the Europe and Central Asia region since 1990. While many people have been able to return home, approximately half remain displaced, with no available avenues for sustainable reintegration. Currently, in five countries of the region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Serbia and Montenegro) displaced persons

ANKARA, Apr 20, 2004 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that cooperation in the Balkans has become critically important in terms of securing and consolidating peace and stability on today's international conditions.

Erdogan made the remarks in Adapazari near Istanbul before his departure for Sarajevo to attend the seventh summit of heads of state and government of Southeast European Countries Cooperation Process.

The Anatolia News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying that Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah