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Countries are set to gather next week in Monterrey, Mexico, for what United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called “the best chance in years” to unlock crucial resources needed to boost economic growth and fulfill internationally agreed development goals.

Noting the success of sanctions and other incentives in the battle to protect endangered species, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced that it has decided to lift or modify trade measures imposed on countries in response to pledges by their governments to reform their wildlife management and commercial practices.

Reaffirming its concern at the hardships borne by civilians during armed conflict and acknowledging the effect their plight has on peace prospects, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a document containing guidelines designed to help deliberations on issues relating to the protection of non-combatants.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a consortium of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - billed as the first-ever public agreement by a multi-ethnic group to work together for all the province's people - to continue providing aid after the UN agency ends its emergency food assistance on 31 March.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today welcomed the swift end to the case of the group of people from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) who had rushed into the Spanish Embassy in Beijing on Thursday seeking asylum.

East Timor today kicked off the territory’s first-ever presidential election campaign, with the head of the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET) predicting that the process will be as peaceful, and the turn out as large, as the balloting for last year’s Constituent Assembly.

In the wake of recent allegations that some aid workers and peacekeepers were involved in sexual exploitation of children in refugee camps, a senior military officer of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has been conducting an ongoing “sensitization” tour of UN troop positions.

Stressing the need for continued support in implementing the peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Security Council today unanimously decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission (UNMEE) for six months, until 15 September.

On the final day of his official visit to Nicaragua, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today received the Pedro Joaquin Chamorro award at the National Assembly in the capital city of Managua, where he had met yesterday with the country’s President, Enrique Bolaños.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today called for action to combat “Islamaphobia,” which she said was on the rise since the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States.