nations

At least 2,500 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York for an annual conference that this year focused on the theme of fostering partnerships for security and sustainable development.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Islamic nations to play their full role in tackling issues from terrorism and human rights abuse to poverty and United Nations reform, as he addressed a world meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic countries in Sana’a, Yemen which ended today.

Reacting to today's media reports alleging that Secretary-General Kofi Annan's conversations were tapped by British intelligence, a United Nations spokesman said if this practice exists it should stop.

Representatives of small island nations convened today in Jamaica for a United Nations-sponsored meeting to examine how to mitigate a range of social, economic and environmental risks over which they have little or no control.