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With military action in Iraq moving into its second week, the Security Council today held its first debate on the situation since the start of hostilities as it began hearing the views of non-members in an open meeting requested by the Arab League and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

A senior United Nations food official called on governments and the private sector today to join forces to ensure continued agricultural production and eliminate hunger by preventing the depletion of nutrient stocks in the soil.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today voiced increasing concern over civilian casualties of the conflict in Iraq, and met with his top humanitarian officials to discuss contingency plans for United Nations relief agencies to return to the country as soon as the military action permits.

Declaring that new and subtler forms of racism are on the rise, a United Nations human rights expert has warned that the fight against discrimination cannot be won if there is no culture of dialogue and respect between peoples, regions and countries.

United Nations humanitarian organizations expressed deep concern today over reports that an air strike on Baghdad resulted in heavy casualties at a civilian market.

Fulfilling a responsibility United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has described as "crucially important," the countries charged with shaping the newly-inaugurated International Criminal Court (ICC) have selected a prominent Argentinean litigator as the tribunal's chief prosecutor.

Expressing deep concern over the worsening impact of conflict on children in Côte d'Ivoire, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today said it found "near catastrophic conditions prevailing" in the northeastern part of the country.

Panama is setting up a network to promote corporate responsibility modelled on an initiative championed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to challenge businesses around the world to act upon a set of universally recognized principles.

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has ordered Croatian authorities to serve an indictment against Gen. Janko Bobetko, with a corresponding order that arrest warrants against the 84-year-old be dropped pending an assessment of his health and ability to travel.

Invoking “the terrifying impact” of war on Iraq, grief for the dead and anguish for the living, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed today to a divided Security Council to unite on a common purpose, and to the international community to respond swiftly and generously to a new “flash appeal” for humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people.