NAIROBI, 30 Aug 2001 (IRIN) - Despite favourable weather conditions, food emergencies persist in the Great Lakes region due to conflicts, the Global Information and Early Warning System on food and agriculture (GIEWS) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced in its most recent report. Full report

NAIROBI, 24 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - New offers of support came from Belgium and UK at the conclusion on Friday of the UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, a two-week conference seeking to curb the proliferation of small arms in some of the world’s most conflict-ridden areas, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) announced in a press release. Full report

NAIROBI, 13 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - The heads of main UN aid agencies on Thursday said that poor funding and a lack of safe access for aid workers threatened the core of humanitarian work worldwide, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) reported. Full report

NAIROBI, 11 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - The human rights organisation, Amnesty International (AI), has questioned some of the aspects of an international conference on illicit trade in small arms, convened by the UN, which opened in New York on Tuesday. Full report

NAIROBI, 9 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - The UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms will be taking place in New York from Monday 9 July until Friday 20 July. Full report

NAIROBI, 3 Jul 2001 (IRIN) - Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has called on the European Union to pay greater attention to the central African countries. In a speech to members of the European Commission in Brussels on Monday to mark Belgium’s presidency of the EU, Verhofstadt said the EU countries must take a leading role in trying to resolve the conflicts in central Africa. Full report

NAIROBI, 29 Jun 2001 (IRIN) - The newly-created International Consortium for Cooperation on the Nile (ICCON) held its first meeting on 26 through 28 June in Geneva, bringing together the international donor community and NGOs in support of the Nile Basin Initiative, a cooperative programme to address poverty, environmental degradation and instability. Full report

NAIROBI, 28 Jun 2001 (IRIN) - Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel, presented on Wednesday his government’s latest policy paper regarding the role Belgium proposes to play in the restoration of peace in the Great Lakes region. Full report

NAIROBI, 25 Jun 2001 (IRIN) - The Belgian government has approved a 37-page document titled “Construction of Peace in the Great Lakes: An Action Plan”. According to the text, received by IRIN on Monday, the plan underlines three “main challenges” for the region: Full report

NAIROBI, 19 Jun 2001 (IRIN) - The Interahamwe have been regrouping on the common borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC to avoid the possibility of being disarmed as the Congolese peace process takes hold, according to news reports. Full report

GREAT LAKES: IRIN Focus on the Twa people