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Noting that at least 300,000 people disappeared in Saddam Hussein's detention centres and torture chambers, United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello opened a two-day workshop in Baghdad today to discuss with Iraqis, international experts and members of the United States-run interim authority how to attain justice.

The United Nations liaison offices in Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade will complete their mandate and close at midnight today, marking the end of the world body's 10-year peacekeeping presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the Central African Republic (CAR) - where chronic instability has been aggravated by a security situation "not fully under control" either before or after the latest coup - a temporary adjustment of United Nations programmes and agencies in the country could provide support for a smooth transition, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report out today.

The Ethiopian-Eritrean peace process continues to be at a critical stage and lasting peace cannot be based on temporary arrangements, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

Hans Blix, the head of United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq, concluded his term of office today, receiving expressions of “profound gratitude” from Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who voiced his admiration for Mr. Blix’s ability to handle the intense demands of his tasks.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on all countries which have not yet done so to sign and ratify the international treaty on the rights of migrant workers and their families, calling it "a landmark in the broader struggle for the international protection of human rights."

Experts of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights today expressed alarm that anti-terrorism policies and practices carried out by many countries pose growing threats to the enjoyment of virtually all human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social.

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the country's two main opposition factions have signed an agreement on military and security arrangements, a major step towards the formation of a two-year national transitional government, according to the United Nations mission in the country.

The United Nations refugee agency today began clearing a controversial makeshift camp just inside the Pakistani border where nearly 20,000 Afghan refugees had been stranded since early 2002 in an area insecure and rife with smugglers.

With many children gravely impacted by the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Liberia over the last several weeks, a United Nations envoy today called on the parties involved to cease activities affecting children and warned that they risk being held accountable.