15 January 2004

• UN is expected to transfer about $2.5 billion to the Development Fund for Iraq. A capable representative was appointed to the group.

• Five newly elected members of the Security Council took their seats at the beginning of the year. Outgoing ones will experience withdrawal symptoms, as attention to them will gradually fade away.

• Haiti was declared independent a hundred years ago, January 1804. It was a pioneer in ending slavery throughout the American continent. Approximately this year, 2004, is the international year to commensurate struggle against slavery.