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The head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon today held yet further “productive” talks with senior Lebanese and Israeli officers aimed at securing Israel’s full withdrawal from the last position it occupies in the south of the country after the war with Hizbollah earlier this year.

Calling for more action to counter pervasive discrimination against women, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today launched a report highlighting that “gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand,” and recommending a raft of measures, from greater investment in girls’ education to imposing quotas ensuring woman are better represented in politics.

Guinea-Bissau’s economic reconstruction remains so fragile that it is vital the country’s main political figures show potential international donors and economic partners they can put national interests ahead of their own and resolve any disputes peacefully, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.

A senior United Nations humanitarian official in Côte d’Ivoire has called upon national and local authorities to assure the protection of civilians and the security of relief workers in the wake of recent attacks in the western part of the divided West African country.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the first local election in Indonesia’s Aceh province since last year’s peace deal was signed between separatists and the Government, as he called on all sides to abide by the poll results and build on the agreement that ended almost 30 years of conflict.

The democratically elected President of Liberia has honoured the United Nations role in bringing peace to a country torn asunder by a civil war that killed almost 150,000 people and sent 850,000 others fleeing across its borders, bedecking the world body’s chief representatives with traditional robes as a token of the people’s appreciation.

Acknowledging that past efforts to expand the membership of the United Nations Security Council have not met with success, the President of the General Assembly today urged participants in its annual debate on the issue to take a realistic approach order to open the way for real progress.

The only way to achieve the key principles of international relations – collective responsibility, global solidarity, the rule of law, mutual accountability and multilateralism – is by “making the best possible use” of the United Nations, the departing Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.

Despite its recent landmark elections, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) still faces “enormous” challenges in recovering from a brutal civil war, however, with all its natural resources the massive African country could spur development in the whole region, a senior United Nations official said today.

More than 100,000 poor Brazilians are expected to benefit from a United Nations-backed development and income-generating project in the semi-arid north-eastern region of Latin America’s largest and most populous country.