Full Coverage: United Nations

30.03.2005 UNITED NATIONS, Mar 29 (IPS) - After a 12-month investigation, a three-member independent committee has cleared U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of any wrongdoing in the multi-million-dollar, now defunct oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

30.03.2005 The UN Security Council is due to vote today on a resolution addressing the crisis in Darfur. It has some catching up to do if credibility is to be restored.

30.03.2005 Nikola Gegaj, Member of Serbia and Montenegro Parliament, strongly condemned the recent attack and beating up of the Vucic couple in Kosovo. He demanded urgent action by UNMIK Police to discover the perpetrators and to make the security of all citizens the priority on the path to establishment of new relations and multiethnic tolerance in Kosovo.

29.03.2005 The UN meets today to discuss future peace-keeping resources in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where nearly 4 million people have died in the civil war since 1996. Why does Kosovo enjoy the protection of more than double the peace-keeping forces currently in the DRC?

25.03.2005 The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the State Union Serbia and Montenegro acknowledges with great satisfaction the positive outcome of the 36th Session of the Parliament of the State Union, during which the Law on Asylum of Serbia and Montenegro was adopted.

23.03.2005 The United Nations General Assembly at its 58th session in December 2003 agreed to proclaim the years 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Water for Life", and beginning with World Water Day, March 22, 2005.

23.03.2005 Overall global wealth has grown but the wealth is so unevenly distributed that only a small fraction of the world's population is benefiting. We need to take comprehensive action to fulfill already made commitments on development agenda, says Kofi Annan in his report to the UN General Assembly.

22.03.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar. 22 (OneWorld) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Monday for sweeping changes at the United Nations, saying the world body needed to keep up to date with threats to global peace and security. Diplomats greeted the plan cautiously but a new global poll said his ideas enjoyed widespread public support.

22.03.2005 Secretary-General Kofi Annan laid before the General Assembly his package for United Nations reform Monday, stressing the urgency of taking action in the three key areas of development, security and human rights. "This hall has heard enough high-sounding declarations to last us for some decades to come," he said. "What is needed now is not more declarations, but action to fulfil the promises already made."

21.03.2005 On Sunday, March 13, several sports hooligan incidents were registered in Zagreb, following the match between handball clubs from Zagreb and Belgrade. The aggression, violence and animosity expressed by the fans were condemned by the press, especially having in mind that several journalists actually were the victims of violent attacks.

21.03.2005 While much attention has been paid to several of President Bush's recent high-profile nominations, one that has been largely overlooked has been that of Ann Veneman, the former Secretary of Agriculture chosen to be the new head of UNICEF. Veneman's history has been characterized by "privileging private profit above the public good," says a global public health coalition calling for a rethinking of both the appointment and the appointment process.

18.03.2005 Amnesty International today expressed concerns at the lack of accountability of both the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR), and their continued refusal to admit any responsibility for their failure to protect the rights of minority communities during the inter-ethnic riots which swept through Kosovo on 17-18 March 2004.

16.03.2005 As the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Commission convenes in Geneva this month, Amnesty International calls on member nations 'to reaffirm unequivocally that the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment applies in all circumstances, including the war on terror.'

16.03.2005 When President Bush nominated longtime foe of the UN John Bolton as the U.S.'s next ambassador to the world body, eyebrows were raised in practically every one of the UN's 191 member countries around the world. Citizens for Global Solutions is leading the charge to oppose Bolton's nomination, offering this video of some of his famous statements about the UN and the U.S.'s place in the world.

16.03.2005 Events in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to cause concern; UN troops have been killed and thousands of people forced to leave their homes. With elections due in June, it is difficult to see how the country can find a stable path through the complexity of its ethnic groupings and interfering neighbours.

15.03.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar 15 (OneWorld) - The United Nations has given rebel militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) two weeks to lay down their weapons voluntarily in a sign the largest U.N. peacekeeping mission in the world is newly determined to crack down on roving bands of fighters.

15.03.2005 At a major international meeting in Madrid on Friday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan put forth a five-pillared 'Global Strategy for Fighting Terrorism' that would bring world nations together in a quest to eliminate both the underlying causes and the methods for spreading terror.

11.03.2005 The biggest news from the ten-year review of the Beijing Declaration on women's rights came last week, when the U.S. government tried--and failed--to block a unanimous reaffirmation of the Platform for Action. But there is another, quieter--yet just as crucial--sphere of action going on: panel presentations on women's rights and women's status, from NGOs around the world. Barbara Gottlieb offers a firsthand commentary on the proceedings.

09.03.2005 After the publication of charges against Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, brought up by the ICTY, the Independent Union of Students of Prishtina University organized a peaceful protest in the streets of Pristina last night.

09.03.2005 Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette will head to Kosovo later this week to continue her tour of United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world to emphasize the world body's zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation and abuse.