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 2001
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The Security Council imposes "smart sanctions" on Liberia for fuelling the civil war in Sierra Leone with illegal 'arms-for-diamonds' trade. The civil war between the government and rebels, backed by neighboring Liberia, is marked by atrocities -- such as hacking off the limbs of civilians and kidnapping children to fight as soldiers. The UN first deployed peacekeepers in 1998 to monitor the peace accord and disarm and reintegrate combatants. In May 2002, the first peaceful elections are held since the 10-year civil war ended and the government sets up a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine the atrocities and promote healing.
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2001
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UN conference against racism is held in Durban, South Africa. The largest conference on racism closes with a global plan to fight
discrimination but verges on collapse over two main obstacles: the Middle
East and how to deal with the legacy of slavery. Slavery is recognized as a
"crime against humanity" but the US and Israel walk out in protest at language
equating Zionism with racism.
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2001
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The UN responds to Sept. 11 attacks. Annan addresses the General Assembly and calls for "immediate, practical, and far-reaching changes" in the way the UN and its member states act against terrorism. The Security Council Counter Terrorism Committee is formed.
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2001
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The United Nations and the Secretary-General win the Nobel Peace Prize. Annan is the UN's second Secretary-General to receive the honor, after. Dag Hammarskjöld, who won it posthumously in 1961. The Nobel Committee cites work for a better organized, more peaceful world and states, "the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations."
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2002
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A peace accord is signed in Angola following the death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, ending 27 years of conflict.
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