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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.

With no new probable cases of the Severe Acute respiratory Syndrome (SARS) reported anywhere in the world since 15 June, the United Nations health agency said today it is moving from an emergency response to a research-based agenda aimed at preventing any future resurgence of the disease that claimed 811 lives and registered 8,447 cases globally.

With the Arab region displaying enormous potential for growth and development, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised the re-opening of the Ibn Khaldun Centre for Development Studies and emphasized its influential role in the region.

A United Nations Security Council delegation hoping to deepen the partnership between the international community and the countries of West Africa, has met with top officials and regional players in Nigeria to discuss the problems facing Guinea-Bissau, Côte' d'Ivoire and Liberia.

The United Nations refugee agency has stepped up preparations to evacuate Sierra Leonean and other refugees trapped in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, as a tenuous ceasefire in the battle-weary city enters its fourth day.

Rural development took centre stage at the annual meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in Geneva today as agency heads from throughout the UN system emphasized its key role in achieving the ambitious goals set by the 2000 Millennium Summit.