Full Coverage: United Nations

11/30/2005 The UN General Assembly reaffirmed its call for nations to take 'urgent action' to protect deep-sea corals, seamounts and hydrothermal vent ecosytems from destruction by bottom trawl fishing but stopped well short of agreeing to declare a halt to the practice in international waters.

11/29/2005 The 2005 Human Development Report paints a bleak picture of the progress made toward those aims six years into the campaign. Among the highlights: The report says the goals for poverty, universal education and child mortality will all be missed in 10 years if current trends continue.

11/29/2005 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that he is "deeply disappointed" that Myanmar's authorities have extended the detention under house arrest of democracy activist Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for another six months.

11/28/2005 Civil Society organisations had earlier written to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing serious concern about the suitability of Tunisia as a host country for the WSIS because of its poor huiman rights record. They have now asked him, again, to take follow up measures after serious attacks on human rights and the right to freedom of expression at the summit.

11/26/2005 The world has failed in an important step towards achieving educational equality for girls this year: 46 countries will not meet international goals for gender parity in schools set for 2005.

11/25/2005 Without urgent international action to deal with the consequences of this year's food crisis in Niger, the country faces a second successive year of extreme suffering and hardship, the UN World Food Programme has warned.

11/25/2005 Oggi, Giornata mondiale per l’eliminazione della violenza contro le donne promossa dalle Nazioni Unite, l’Organizzazione mondiale della Sanità (Oms-Who) ricorda con un rapporto che la violenza domestica colpisce una donna su sei al mondo e l’Unicef segnala che ogni anno 3 milioni di bambine subiscono l’escissione genitale in 28 nazioni sub-sahariane e in alcuni paesi del medioriente. Per porre all’attenzione il problema la “Marcia Mondiale delle Donne” invita tutte le donne ad appendere alle finestre un lenzuolo con la scritta della Giornata e Amnesty International, rlanciando la campagna “Mai più violenza sulle donne” rende noto un Rapporto sulle violenze in Guatemala. La Fondazione Pangea Onlus ha lanciato una campagna di sensibilizzazione a favore delle donne nel mondo e il 2-3 dicembre a Bolzano per la terza tappa della World Social Agenda, microcredito e finanza solidale sono coniugati al femminile con interventi di donne dell’America Latina.

11/25/2005 Human rights organisation, Amnesty International says that despite the explicit aims of an inclusive and rights-based information society, many of the signatories to the WSIS Declaration of Principles continue to crack down on freedom of expression, censor the Internet and flaunt the basic standards of international law and human rights.

11/24/2005 Assault by husbands and partners is the most common form of violence against women, and is a major public health issue, says a new multi-country study by the World Health Organisation.

11/23/2005 UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (OneWorld) - Tensions are escalating between the Group of 77 (and China)--the largest single coalition of developing nations--and the United Nations Secretariat over the question of how to reform the administrative machinery of the world body.

11/23/2005 The 2005 UNICEF Awards for best reporting on children and children rights for Serbia, went to Valentina Delic, journalist with the PG Mreza, and Duska Maksimovic Vlajcic, journalist with Novosti publishing company.

11/22/2005 The U.S. should urge the U.N. to provide a stronger mandate and larger force to protect the vulnerable in Darfur, Sudan, said Africa Action Monday. The U.S. is in a strong position to initiate an intervention and Americans want it, the group said, citing the thousands of postcards U.S. citizens have sent to the White House calling for action.

11/22/2005 The “XY” Production Company will officially promote its “Otisci” (“Prints”) documentary series today, at the Media Centre Sarajevo. The screening and the promotion will be reserved for journalists and partners of the XY Production.

11/22/2005 Viikonloppuna järjestetyssä valtakunnallisessa malli-YK:ssa koululaiset keskustelivat vilkkaasti ja valmistelivat oikean YK:n tavoin päätöslauselmia ympäristöstä, tasa-arvosta, lasten oikeuksista ja globaalista kumppanuudesta. Kokoukseen osallistui 14-18 -vuotiaita lukiolaisia ja peruskoululaisia ympäri Suomea.

11/22/2005 While warmly welcoming Saturday's international donors' conference for Pakistan's recovery from last month's devastating earthquake, a group of United Nations experts warned today that the vast majority of pledges are earmarked for long-term recovery even as operations remain in the critical rescue and assistance phase.

11/21/2005 * The number of people living with HIV has reached its highest level: 40.3 million
* Almost 5 million people were newly infected in 2005
* Treatment is not being delivered fast enough to contain the epidemic
* Some countries, including Pakistan and Indonesia, could be on the verge of serious epidemics
* There is also good news - evidence that interventions can work - from parts of Brazil, Cambodia, Kenya, Spain, Thailand, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
The annual AIDS Epidemic Update reports on the latest developments.
+ Watching rich countries to see if they deliver on Aids promises

11/21/2005 The legitimacy of the World Summit On the Information Society had been put in question by the interference of the Tunisian authorities, and no UN-sponsored summit should ever again be held under such oppressive conditions, said a leading right group.

11/20/2005 The United Nations is urged to scale up its aid operation in Pakistan immediately, and for international donors to fund the aid response properly.

11/19/2005 SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 19 (OneWorld) - According to terrorism and nuclear experts, the Bush administration probably tweaked some, but not all of the intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq.

11/18/2005 United Nations resident coordinator Matthew Kahane, on behalf of major donors including residential embassies and UN agencies, has urged the government to withdraw the Code of Conduct for NGOs and INGOs and revisit the issue.