Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday chose Bernard Kouchner of France to oversee the massive international effort to turn war-devastated Kosovo into a functioning, democratic society.

As the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Mr. Kouchner will head the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and be the highest-ranking civilian authority in the province.

Mr. Kouchner, a Minister in the French Government who is a medical doctor by education, is widely known for his humanitarian activities, in part as the founder of the non-profit relief organization "Medecins sans Frontieres". A winner of the "Dag Hammarskjold" prize for human rights, Mr. Kouchner is also the author of numerous books and screenplays.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters after meeting with Mr. Kouchner, the Secretary-General said that Mr. Kouchner came with "leadership, with management, with energy and is going not only to be a good leader but a wonderful advocate for what we are trying to do in the region."

Two other appointments on Friday completed UNMIK's top management team. The Secretary-General named James P. Covey of the United States to the newly created post of Principle Deputy Special Representative, and Daan Everts of the Netherlands as Deputy Special Representative for Institution Building.

Mr. Everts joins three other Deputy Special Representatives who will each head one of the Mission's four components. Dennis McNamara of New Zealand will oversee humanitarian operations, Dominique Vian of France will be in charge of the Interim Civil Administration and Jolly Dixon of the United Kingdom will head Reconstruction.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's acting Special Representative who has been setting up the UN operations in the province, brought together Albanian and Serb community leaders to focus on the pressing issue of security for all people.

In a joint statement after the meeting, the community leaders called for restraint and respect for human life. The two sides also agreed to form a crisis group to respond rapidly to security emergencies and to set up a hotline linking all parties.

The UN mission in Kosovo is broadcasting the joint statement over Pristina's radio and television stations which have been brought back on the air to publicize the message. The local network had been shut down for days because of a standoff between Serb and Albanian staff.

Meanwhile, as the number of returning refugees topped 530,000, the UN Mine Action Program has received thousands of requests for mine experts to inspect homes suspected of being mined or booby trapped. So far, 425 mine fields have been reported to the Programme's Pristina office. The UN hopes to clear key areas before winter when the ground freezes and de-mining becomes more difficult.

In other developments, a UN spokesman said on Friday that the number of civilian police pledged for the UN Mission in Kosovo now stood at 2,486. UN estimates that some 3,000 police officers are needed to establish law and order in the province.

"I find it incredible that after a hugely expensive conflict in Europe, UNHCR has to keep saying 'we have no money' to help hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people produced by the crisis," UNHCR Special Envoy Dennis McNamara told a news conference in Geneva.

The UN refugee agency has budgeted a "modest" $10 million a week for its Kosovo operation and still needed $234 million for its activities in the region in 1999.

Mr. McNamara, who heads the humanitarian arm of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), described the coming back of an estimated 523,000 refugees over the past two weeks as one of the most dramatic spontaneous returns in recent history. He said a dangerous gap was developing between immediate relief operations, and long-term programmes such as reconstruction and the establishment of civil structures, including a functioning court system, police force and prisons.

The Special Envoy described the plight of Serbs and Roma (Gypsies) as "precarious and extremely difficult". They were under constant attack despite the efforts by KFOR, the international security force, to protect them, he said. UNHCR would help at least some of the 5,000 ethnic Serbs refugees from Croatia who came to Kosovo after being expelled from the Krajina region several years ago, to leave Kosovo if they wished.

"This is remarkable that despite the controversy, despite the contentious issues, despite the difficulties, despite the lack of resources, the commitment of the international community continues to be there," Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole, the special session's working group, told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday morning.

Ambassador Chowdury spoke just hours after the Ad Hoc Committee managed to agree on a comprehensive text containing key actions for the further implementation of the Cairo Programme. The final document was transmitted to the General Assembly, which was expected to adopt the text at the session's final plenary meeting late Friday evening after the conclusion of its three-day general debate.

Among the key actions recommended by the 106-paragraph text, Governments were called on to ensure that the human rights of women and girls were respected, protected and promoted through the development, implementation and effective enforcement of gender-sensitive policies and legislation. The implementation of national population and development policies should continue to incorporate reproductive rights in accordance with the Programme of Action. Governments should also take strong measures to promote the human rights of women and were encouraged to strengthen the reproductive and sexual health as well as the reproductive rights focus on population and development policies and programmes.

Commenting on the negotiating process that led to consensus on the final document, Ambassador Chowdhury stressed the importance of the openness that marked the discussions.

"We had full transparency. It was one of the most transparent and participatory negotiations. Any document, anything which was negotiated was made available to everybody," said Ambassador Chowdhury, stressing that the example of the current special session could be followed by other "Plus 5" review conferences.

Speaking at a news conference in Sydney, Ambassador Jamsheed Marker said he was satisfied by the assurances of Indonesian authorities that additional security personnel in East Timor and the separation of the military from control over the police would improve the situation on the ground. Sounding a note of caution, however, he said, "How successful they are going to be is something that time will tell. I hope they will succeed."

In response to a question about Tuesday's incident at the UN office in Maliana, Ambassador Marker said the UN was told of the possibility of an attack only after the headquarters there had been set up. "We were there already and we did inform the police," he said. "This is what is so deplorable -- that the police action was not only too late but far too little." However, he reiterated the UN position that its civilian police would not be armed, saying that sidearms for one police officer was not going to make "all that difference."

Following a number of appointments in Sydney, Ambassador Marker is scheduled to arrive Sunday in Canberra, where he will meet with senior Australian officials, including the Acting Prime Minister. The meetings are expected to cover the political situation in East Timor as well as the status of the preparations for the UN-organized popular consultation.

Since 1992, various Council resolutions have called for Libya to cooperate fully in bringing to justice those responsible for the bombings of UTA flight 772 and Pan Am Flight 103, pay compensation to the victims and renounce terrorism.

In the report released at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, the Secretary-General says the French authorities have, on the whole, been satisfied as regards UTA Flight 772, and have convicted six persons in absentia for the crime. The Secretary-General also notes that Libya has pledged that it will cooperate with a Scottish court in the Netherlands prosecuting the suspects in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and pay compensation to the victims if it is found liable for damages.

The Secretary-General points out that Libya has renounced all forms of international terrorism, even cooperating with British authorities in countering terrorist activities. The United Kingdom reported that there were omissions in Libya's replies to their questions on links with the Provisional Irish Republican Army, but it was satisfied with the answers and hoped that Libya would continue to follow the path of renouncing international terrorism.

For its part, the United States said that Libya "has not taken similar steps with regard to its support for other terrorist organizations."

The Secretary-General also says that representatives of Libya, the United Kingdom and the United States agreed on the need for a follow-up meeting after the one he hosted in mid-June, which sought to help the parties clarify the remaining issues relating to the lifting of the sanctions. He expresses hope that further contacts will eventually lead to a normalization of relations among the parties.

In a letter to the Security Council released Friday, the Secretary- General spells out new tasks for the UN Peace-building Support Office in Guinea- Bissau (UNOGBIS). The revised mandate follows recommendations made by a UN Department of Political Affairs assessment mission sent to the country last month.

Among its new responsibilities, the Office will support efforts towards national reconciliation, tolerance and peaceful management, as well as encourage initiatives for building confidence and maintaining friendly relations between Guinea-Bissau and its neighbours and international partners.

According to the Secretary-General's plan, UNOGBIS will continue to help create an enabling environment for restoring, maintaining and consolidating peace, democracy and the rule of law and for the organization of free and transparent elections in Guinea-Bissau.

The UN support office will also seek the commitment of the Government and other parties to adopt a programme of voluntary arms collection and destruction and provide the political framework and leadership for harmonizing and integrating the activities of the United Nations system in the country, particularly during the transitional period leading up to general and presidential elections.