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Lauding the dedication of United Nations staff worldwide, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said that given the UN's key role in Afghanistan, the Organization would be measured by its work in that country.

Calling HIV/AIDS one of the "biggest barriers to development," Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged stepped up efforts to combat the epidemic.

The rapidly changing military developments in Afghanistan have "fundamentally changed" the conditions for the delivery of assistance into the war-ravaged and drought-stricken country, a senior United Nations relief official said today.

As an international conference on the reconstruction of Afghanistan wrapped up its work today in Islamabad, the United Nations official leading the UN recovery effort in the country stressed that a viable political settlement was key to any future economic revival.

With the international community gearing up to mark World AIDS Day on 1December, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed for maintaining the “tremendous momentum” that had been built in the fight against the epidemic prior to the 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States.

Determined to improve the humanitarian situation in Iraq, the Security Council today voted unanimously to extend the United Nations "oil-for-food" programme for a new period of 180 days, beginning on 1 December.

Following high-level talks in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, delegates from around Asia and the Pacific today adopted a regional platform statement on sustainable development that will feed into the global preparatory process for next year’s United Nations summit on this issue.

The 88 members of East Timor's Constituent Assembly received today draft copies of the nation's first constitution for consideration and debate, the United Nations mission reported from the capital, Dili.

As United Nations-sponsored talks among Afghan representatives entered their third day in Petersberg, Germany, UN officials reported that the sides were getting closer - but had not yet reached - an agreement on future power-sharing arrangements.

The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) today decided to convene a high-level ministerial conference on aviation security next year.