The United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) today shined the spotlight on the plight of child soldiers in Uganda, the crisis of children orphaned by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and overfishing as a threat to marine biodiversity as it sought to raise awareness of some of the important international issues and developments that often do not get sufficient media attention.

The international community must accelerate its pace towards the achievable goals of delivering safe drinking water, basic sanitation and shelter for the poor by 2015, the chairman of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development told the meeting's high-level ministerial segment as it wrapped up its 12th session today.

The United Nations refugee agency today spotlighted the plight of tens of thousands of asylum seekers detained in the United States, including more than 5,000 children held every year.

Despite the war in Iraq, the international agenda must be balanced with attention to environmental protection, social progress and economic growth, especially as they concern water, sanitation and settlements, in the struggle to improve human welfare, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.