TRADE: China’s Admission Will Change WTO

China's admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which overcame one of the last obstacles Monday, will have a major impact on international trade and on the political balance within the multilateral institution.

TRADE: Attacks on US Cast Doubt on WTO Ministerial Conference

The terrorist attacks Tuesday in the United States have deepened the uncertainty surrounding the fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), scheduled for November in Qatar, but the institution's authorities are ruling out, for now, a postponement of the event.

DISARMAMENT: Progress on Landmine Elimination under Scrutiny

The fight against anti-personnel landmines in the last year has made important advances, despite the fact that some countries - Uganda and Angola in particular - have violated the stipulations of the international treaty banning the devices, experts said Wednesday.

AFRICA: Development Requires Billions in Aid, Says UN

Africa needs a considerable boost in external financing, at least over the course of one decade, to accelerate the continent's economic growth, says Rubens Ricupero, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

EDUCATION: UNESCO’s New Approach Focuses on Tolerance

The objective of education worldwide, which until the last decade focused on universal access to schooling, is now heading towards a concept of teaching for learning to live together, says the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in a document distributed Wednesday to Education ministers from around the world.

TRADE: Potential for Another Seattle-like Fiasco Hangs Over WTO

With just two months left before the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), indecision continues to plague efforts to launch a new round of multilateral talks for deepening the processes towards global free trade.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: UN Mission Has Dire Forecast for Civil War

A United Nations mission that recently wrapped up a visit to Colombia forecasts an escalation of the civil war there in the coming months and a further decline in the civilian population's living standards in the zones of conflict.

DISARMAMENT: Landmine Treaty a Rare Multilateral Success

The convention against the use of anti- personnel landmines has become the most successful of international disarmament treaties, despite the fact that the world's major powers - China, Russia and the United States - have yet to officially recognise the accord.

ENVIRONMENT: El Niño Returns, Tamer This Time

The meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño is reappearing this year, but with less force than in 1997- 1998, when it was blamed for 24,000 deaths and damages worth an estimated 34 billion dollars worldwide.

ENVIRONMENT: El Niño Returns, Tamer This Time

The meteorological phenomenon known as El Niño is reappearing this year, but with less force than in 1997- 1998, when it was blamed for 24,000 deaths and damages worth an estimated 34 billion dollars worldwide.

DISARMAMENT: Biological Weapons Talks End in Failure

The failure of a verification initiative for biological weapons control, drafted by a special United Nations group, has put an end to the short-lived climate of understanding that had been achieved after seven years of negotiations in this Swiss city.

LABOUR-UKRAINE: Millions of Workers ‘Suffering Acutely’, says ILO

Millions of workers in the Ukraine are living in appallingly difficult conditions, 10 years after the former Soviet republic became an independent state, reports a new study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

DEVELOPMENT-CENTRAL ASIA: Thrashed by Drought and Soviet Legacy

A persistent drought and the economic transformations since the collapse of the Soviet Union have greatly exacerbated poverty in some Central Asian republics, said humanitarian aid organisations Tuesday as they issued an appeal for international help.

RIGHTS: NGOs Back UN Call for Globalisation Impact Study

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) applaud the decision of a United Nations body to urge a detailed study of the effects of globalisation and certain trade agreements on human rights.

RIGHTS: Central Asian Women Increasingly Targeted by Traffickers

Networks of traffickers in humans are increasingly exploiting women from Central Asia, subjecting them to a modern form of slavery in a dynamic that is linked to the globalisation process and the transformation of local economies, said the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Friday.

RIGHTS: UN Forum Prescribes a Social Focus for the Economy

The United Nations-sponsored Social Forum commenced activities Monday with considerations of how to convince governments and corporations to keep human rights in mind when making decisions and investments.

RIGHTS: Conference against Racism Can be Saved, Says Robinson

Despite the quagmire of differences in drafting the final texts, the World Conference against Racism, to begin Aug 31 in South Africa, is not in danger of ending in fiasco, assured diplomats Friday.

RIGHTS: UN Extends Talks in Bid to Save Anti-Racism Conference

The profound differences of opinion obstructing preparations for the World Conference against Racism, scheduled to begin Aug 31 in South Africa, have forced an extension of negotiations on the meeting's draft resolutions.

RIGHTS: IMF Deems Itself Above Certain Values, Say UN Experts

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that it is not obligated to promote human rights around the world, responding to accusations that the institution has shown indifference to such principles.

HEALTH: UN Calls for Special Regime for Medicines

No international agreement should prohibit policies that ensure access to medicine at affordable prices, says a study presented to the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights Tuesday.

RIGHTS: NGOs Urge UN Action against Repression in Turkey

Non-governmental organisations called on the United Nations Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Wednesday to intercede with authorities in Turkey to end the inhumane situations of the country's prisons and to release Kurdish political prisoners.