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| 1999, Jan 1 |
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| Pres. Charles Taylor of Liberia was internationally exposed by the UN as a supporter of rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war through his illegal diamonds-for-arms trading (See 2000, Dec. 20). | 1 |
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| Jan. 13 |
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| In a huge international human rights advance, Senegal banned female circumcision. | 2 |
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| March 11 |
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| In a UN summit, U.S. president Clinton announced equalization plans for immigration restrictions on Central Americans wishing to enter the U.S. This plan would allow for about 240,000 additional legal refugees to reside in the U.S. | 3 |
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| April 5 |
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| The international embargo of Libya was ended as Pres. Qaddafi handed over two men suspected of perpetrating the 1988 bombing of a Pan American World Airways plane during flight 103. The aircraft exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, leaving at least 270 persons dead. | 4 |
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| April 21 |
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| The U.S. Congress accused China of stealing nuclear secrets from its classified reports over the past twenty years. Sino-American relations further deteriorated when on May 7 U.S. forces mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing 3 and wounding 27 more. The U.S. had been engaged in an attack on Yugoslavia. | 5 |
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| April 23–25 |
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| The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated its 50th anniversary. | 6 |
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| April 30 |
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| The Organization of African Unity (OAU) imposed diplomatic and economic sanctions on Comoros, a nation of small African islands, after a military coup led by Col. Azzaly Assoumani overthrew the government (See 1999, April 30). | 7 |
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| May 26–June 10 |
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| The India-Pakistan conflict that had prompted recent nuclear displays escalated as international peace talks concerning Jammu-Kashmir stalled. The Indian Air Force launched air strikes, and the army sent in ground troops to Jammu-Kashmir. By July 26 Pakistan was forced to withdraw the troops it had supplied to the Kashmiri rebels. Intermittent fighting between Indian troops and Islamic rebel forces in Jammu-Kashmir continued. | 8 |
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| June 2 |
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| Nelson R. Mandela retired from the presidency of South Africa, establishing himself as one of the world's most recognized and revered statesmen. | 9 |
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| June 29 |
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| A two-day international summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Representatives met from Mercosur (South American Common Market) and the European Union to discuss gradual free-trade efforts between the two continents. A tentative objective was to establish some sort of free-trade agreement by the year 2005. | 10 |
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| July 9 |
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| Japan reached a comprehensive trade agreement with China, lowering duties on various important commodities and securing Japanese backing for China's application to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). | 11 |
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| July 10 |
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| Pres. Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan announced the island's abandonment of the longstanding “One China” policy in a declaration of Taiwanese autonomy. Lee now held that Taiwan would deal with China on a “state to state basis” (See July 10). | 12 |
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