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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) military’s efforts to flush militias from the area south of Lake Albert in Ituri district has resulted in serious human rights violations, including the summary execution of six fishermen, rapes, imprisoning children and forcing villagers to transport stolen goods, the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MONUC) said today.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) through 15 December and pledged to keep its troop strength under review, stopping short of meeting Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recommendation to significantly increase in the size of the force.

The price of conserving coral reefs and mangroves is small when compared to the cost that will be incurred if they are destroyed, a report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) argues.

Over six decades after the liberation of the Nazi death camps began, the United Nations this week will hold a series of solemn events culminating on Friday with the first universal observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

A blueprint for international engagement in the development of Afghanistan over the next five years had been finalized, the United Nations Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA) announced today.

Representatives of Asian and Pacific governments meeting at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Bangkok today pledged to harmonize economic growth with environmental sustainability in addressing climate change, air pollution, industrial development and energy issues.

With the number of Africans in crisis being fed by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) having doubled in a decade, the agency today called on the continent’s leaders, meeting in Sudan for their annual summit, and donor countries to adopt a “food first” policy this year.

Senior United Nations officials today mourned the deaths of 42 troops and civilians from Slovakia who died in a recent plane crash while serving with the NATO-led Kosovo International Security Force (KFOR).

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the killing today of eight Guatemalan peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and the wounding of five others as they sought Ugandan rebels who had displaced thousands of local civilians from a park.

The United Nations is conducting some 200 investigations into its procurement activities and has placed eight officials on special leave with pay in that connection, the senior UN management official announced today, estimating that the funds involved could top the tens of millions of dollars.