New contact group, new UN representative

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed the creation of an international contact group on Liberia, and has named Abou Moussa as the new UN representative and focal point for the country. Moussa has been the Regional Representative for West Africa of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Liberia contact group, established as part of a new political strategy to address the continuing conflict situation there, held its inaugural meeting in New York on Tuesday, the UN reported. The group includes representatives of the UN, European Union, African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the US, United Kingdom, France, Senegal, Nigeria and Morocco. Annan said his Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, who is to closely monitor regional developments, would visit the Mano River Union (MRU) countries shortly, to explore ways in which the United Nations could support MRU and ECOWAS efforts to promote peace and stability. The MRU countries include Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. "I trust the contact group will pay special attention to the untold suffering inflicted on the population by the protracted instability in Liberia," Annan said in a statement at the first meeting. "Every effort should be made to mobilise resources to support the work of humanitarian organisations," he added. Annan said he was also "pleased to note that the membership of the group reflects the convergence of views between the international community and regional stakeholders on the need for effective cooperation to promote lasting peace and stability, especially in Liberia." In a related development, news agencies quoted Liberia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Monie Captan as saying on Tuesday that the contact group was a step in the right direction toward ending violent conflict in Liberia "once and for all". Captan was also quoted as saying that President Charles Taylor would run for re-election in Liberia in 2003.