Europe

Walter Kaelin, the Secretary-General’s Representative for the Human Rights of IDPs

Azerbaijan: UN rights expert on displaced persons urges progress in peace process

28 May 2010
Peace and Security

Progress is needed in the ongoing peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region so that internally displaced persons (IDPs) can find a durable solution to their predicament, an independent United Nations human rights expert has said.

From right: Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias, Alexander Downer and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu

Ban welcomes resumption of Cyprus reunification talks

26 May 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the resumption of talks that aim to reunify the Mediterranean island country of Cyprus, urging both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to be guided by the spirit of give-and-take in their negotiations.
Baltasar Garzón.

UN human rights experts voice concern about suspension of Spanish judge

25 May 2010
A group of United Nations human rights experts today expressed concern about the suspension of a high-profile Spanish judge who had been investigating allegations regarding tens of thousands of enforced disappearances during the country’s civil war and subsequent years

Security Council hears of internal bid to undermine Bosnia and Herzegovina

24 May 2010
Prospects for regional reconciliation in the western Balkans have continued to improve, but internal politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina have deteriorated with attempts being made to undermine State institutions, the Security Council was told today.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits the buffer zone in Cyprus and crossed to the north via Ledra Street in February 2010

Solution on Cyprus well within reach, Secretary-General says

21 May 2010
Considerable progress has been made over the past six months in United Nations-sponsored talks on the unification of Cyprus and a solution is well within reach even as the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community has changed, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
Vojislav Šešelj

UN war crimes tribunal upholds Serb party leader’s conviction for contempt

19 May 2010
The United Nations tribunal that is trying the leader of the Serb Radical Party for crimes against humanity and war crimes today upheld his conviction for contempt of court and 15-month jail sentence for disclosing information on 11 protected witnesses.
Ljube Boškoski (left) and Johan Tarčulovski

UN war crimes tribunal for the Balkans affirms police officer’s conviction

19 May 2010
The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Balkan conflicts today affirmed the conviction of a former police officer and the acquittal of an ex-government minister in a case related to acts committed during a police operation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in August 2001.
Special Representative Lamberto Zannier, briefs the Security Council

Lack of communal reconciliation in Kosovo risks social unrest, UN envoy warns

17 May 2010
The absence of a significant process of reconciliation between the communities in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, together with economic difficulties, continues to present the risk of social unrest, a senior United Nations envoy warned today.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the United Kingdom's Prime Minister David Cameron in June 2008

UN chief looks forward to working with new British leaders on shared goals

14 May 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the newly-appointed leaders of the United Kingdom and said he looked forward to working with them on common goals such as climate change, nuclear disarmament and the achievement of global development targets.
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf

Recession hampering fight against hunger in Europe, Central Asia – UN

13 May 2010
The global downturn is threatening to reverse gains made – driven largely by agriculture – in combating poverty and food insecurity in Europe and Central Asia, a senior United Nations official said today.