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The acting United Nations human rights chief today appealed to world leaders at the G-8 Summit to ensure that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be enshrined as the “international minimum standards” for all institutions of national and global governance.

With the parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United Nations standing at the intersection of peace and war, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the mandate of the UN mission in the country be extended until next June and that its military strength be boosted to nearly 11,000 troops.

Stressing that Myanmar is at a “critical juncture” in its ongoing political transition, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said he believes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy leaders currently being held in “protective custody” should be released immediately and allowed to cooperate with the Government to bring about national reconciliation in the country.

Japan has become the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) top donor for relief efforts in Iraq with a donation this week of $10.2 million to support reopening schools across the country, bringing its total contributions to more than $15 million, the agency announced today.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the Security Council’s approval of a robust multinational force to work alongside the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to restore stability to the troubled town of Bunia and help improve the humanitarian situation there.

A panel of prominent personalities from around the globe convened by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan began two days of closed-door meetings at UN Headquarters in New York today, chaired by former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil.

In a bid to promote sustainable consumption and production, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today said it is working on a new partnership with the fashion industry to send ecologically friendly messages to consumers.

The United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, is leaving for Geneva today before heading to Cambodia, where he is expected to sign an agreement later this week on the establishment of special courts to try the former Khmer Rouge leaders.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appealed to the world’s richest countries and the leaders of some of its poorest to adopt a strategy of rural investment and agricultural research to cut short the constant recurrence of food shortages and famine in Africa.

The United Nations Geneva-based Human Rights Office today joined one of the world body’s leading human rights investigators in urging the Government of Myanmar to renew its commitment to political reform and human rights, starting with the immediate and unconditional release of pro-democracy leaders currently being held in detention.