Security Council members express outrage at massacre of hundreds of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Details of these and other United Nations developments coming up in this week's edition of the World In Review. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the economic and social challenges of 1999 are shaping up to be as numerous and complex as those of the past year. In remarks at a ceremonial meeting to mark the formal handover of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 Developing Countries from Indonesia to Guyana, the Secretary-General recalled that many of the countries of the Group of 77 were hit very hard by events of 1998. And, he added, they know all too well that the global crisis is far from over.
Safety nets remain few or inexistent.
He cited areas such as helping those countries facing the perennial challenges of feeding their people, fighting poverty, promoting human rights and providing democratic governance. And, he pointed out that the United Nations can help bridge the gap between local politics and fears and the increasing globalization of markets, and movements of goods. The question is how. If the dark cloud of crisis has had any silver lining, it is that the past year was especially fruitful for international economic cooperation at the United Nations. Dialogue has been strengthened.