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Top officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) expressed the hope today that the horrors humanity had suffered during the past century would serve as a lesson, and that the existence of a permanent war crimes tribunal would help to prevent those atrocities from being repeated in the future.

The official in charge of the United Nations programme that is the only source of food for 60 per cent of Iraq's population today urged the Security Council to extend the authority of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to run it for another three weeks so that supplies already in the pipeline can be delivered.

Countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York to finalize the formation of the world's first permanent war crimes court have elected 10 members to a committee that will oversee the financial, budgetary and administrative operations of the newly established International Criminal Court (ICC).

In his first meeting with the Security Council since the war in Iraq, top United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix made the case today for the return of his inspections teams as a guarantor of independence and credibility in the search for suspected weapons of mass destruction.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed for a healing of the rifts within the United Nations Security Council that marked the run-up to the war in Iraq as the international community now seeks to help that country return to normalcy and rejoin the family of nations.

In what it called a “disappointing outcome,” the United Nations Disarmament Commission has concluded its 2003 session without concrete proposals to advance either nuclear disarmament or confidence-building in the field of conventional arms.

United Nations relief agencies today praised the Iraqi doctors, nurses and support staff who have kept services running despite the destruction and looting, but they also underscored the enormity of the tasks ahead in repairing the national infrastructure and feeding the population.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived today in Vienna, set to begin his official visit with Austrian leaders before attending meetings in Switzerland and France later this week.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan voices hope in a new report to the Security Council that the fate of Kuwaiti and third-country nationals missing since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 will now be solved quickly after the end of the current conflict in Iraq.

As Angola launched a nationwide measles vaccination campaign today to immunize 7 million children within a month, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) urged the government to support the nascent peace process with increased funds for health and education, and the international community to join in helping the war-ruined country.