Europe

Planned changes to Belarus legal code could threaten basic freedoms – UN expert

12 December 2005
A United Nations human rights expert has appealed to Belarus not to adopt new provisions for its legal codes that he says could threaten basic freedoms of individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and even make it difficult for him to fulfil his mandate.

Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina pleads not guilty at UN war crimes court

12 December 2005
Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina today pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and inhumane acts brought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague.

Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina transferred to UN war crimes court

10 December 2005
Former Croatian General Ante Gotovina was transferred today to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, where he faces charges of murder and inhumane acts committed against the Serb population during the conflict that engulfed the Balkans in the 1990s.

Timor-Leste, helped to independence by UN, sends police to help UN in Kosovo

9 December 2005
Underscoring the remarkable progress it has made since the United Nations helped it to independence in 2002, Timor-Leste, the world’s youngest country, is sending 10 police officers to serve in the UN Police unit in Kosovo, which the world body has administered since 1999.

UN war crimes court for former Yugoslavia sentences Bosnian Croat to 20 years

7 December 2005
The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) today sentenced Bosnian Croat Miroslav Bralo to 20 years’ imprisonment for his role in the multiple murder, rape, torture, unlawful confinement and inhumane treatment of Bosnian Muslim civilians in 1993.

Condemning attack against bus in Kosovo, UN envoy orders stepped up security measures

4 December 2005
The senior United Nations official in Kosovo has ordered stepped-up security measures, including new checkpoints, throughout the province in response to yesterday's failed but potentially lethal attack against a bus.
EU directive may trigger downgrading of asylum standards

New asylum procedures in Europe may lead to difficulties for refugees

2 December 2005
A controversial European Union (EU) directive on asylum procedures adopted without discussion by the 25 EU member states in Brussels yesterday may lead to a serious downgrading of asylum standards in the EU and beyond, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

UN group for sustainable development in Europe adopts wide-scale reforms

2 December 2005
The United Nations commission that aims to foster sustainable development in Europe today adopted sweeping reform of its governance structure, cost-effectiveness and transparency to bring its priorities in line with current conditions, the agency reported.

UN Tribunal releases two Kosovo fighters found not guilty of war crimes

1 December 2005
Two former members of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were released today from the detention unit of the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, after having been cleared of war crimes during the deadly ethnic fighting in 1998-99 that led the United Nations to take over the administration of the Serbian province.

Annan recommends extension of UN mission in Cyprus once again

1 December 2005
Saying the situation in Cyprus was calm but "progress toward a political solution remains negligible at best," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there be extended for six-months, under its present authorized strength.