With photos of prisoner abuses in Iraq and reports of civilians under attack in Sudan's Darfur region grabbing worldwide attention, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hosted a lecture today at United Nations Headquarters in New York that looked at the various dimensions of human rights.

Although oppressive governments sometimes defend one another, the "human rights idea" has spread around the world through intergovernmental groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and educational institutions, the United Nations' Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights said.

Voicing "serious concern" following reports of torture of Iraqi detainees by United States and British military officers, a United Nations human rights group today called on the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Governing Council to respect international human rights law and grant them access to courts.