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The United Nations humanitarian effort in Iraq has made a significant positive impact on the country’s citizens, but much more must be done to help respond to their needs, according to the Executive Director of the oil-for-food programme, which allows Baghdad to use a portion of its petroleum revenues to purchase relief aid.

Quick to use new technologies, drug traffickers and criminal elements have started exploiting the Internet as a vehicle for trading illegal drugs, according to new report released by a panel of United Nations experts.

Reacting to the death of rebel leader Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on the parties in Angola to agree to an immediate ceasefire and to restart peace talks based on the so-called Lusaka Protocol.

Responding to the breakdown of peace talks in Colombia, the United Nations refugee agency is planning for a possible exodus of civilians across international borders, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.

Voicing opposition to the forced mass repatriation of Afghans living in Dubai, the United Nations refugee agency today called for a suspension of the practice.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today wrapped up his official visit to the United Kingdom after a series of meetings in London to discuss the Middle East and Afghanistan.

In what has been described as an “historic occasion,” the Governments of Australia and Indonesia today met with authorities from East Timor for the first-ever trilateral talks, as the United Nations Transitional Administration (UNTAET) highlighted the key role of East Timorese officials in representing the territory just three months away from its independence.

A United Nations human rights expert today welcomed the recent judgement by the European Community’s court that upheld a Dutch law barring lawyers from entering into professional partnerships with accountants, saying the ruling was even more significant in light of the Enron case and its allegations of serious conflicts of interest.

Security Council members said today they were in the process of considering a recent report by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the so-far fruitless efforts to resolve the dispute concerning Western Sahara and would consult with Mr. Annan’s envoy involved in the matter before taking any action.

The United Nations Security Council today said that the Inter-Congolese dialogue commencing in Sun City, South Africa, was "an essential element to achieving lasting peace" in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).