RIGHTS: Pre-Conference Negotiations on Racism Wear On

Delegates from the international community could not agree on a draft of the final declaration for the United Nations World Conference against Racism Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and decided to extend the negotiating period in order to hammer out a definitive text.

RIGHTS: Caste System Taboo in Run-Up to Anti-Racism Conference

The discrimination against 250 million people in South Asia and other regions of the world who belong to supposedly inferior castes has been ignored in drawing up the agenda for the United Nations World Conference against Racism, charged human rights activists Thursday.

RIGHTS: No UN Accord Yet on Compensating Victims of Racism

The question of reparations for slavery and colonialism has divided the delegations involved in drafting the final document for the United Nations-sponsored World Conference against Racism, to be held in Durban, South Africa, Aug 31 to Sep 7.

TRADE: US Uncertainty Slowing Global Commerce, Says WTO

International trade this year hinges on the outcome of the economic uncertainty reigning in the United States, following an exceptional global trade performance in 2000, says the World Trade Organisation (WTO) annual report, published here Wednesday.

HEALTH: WHO Assembly Adamant on Breastfeeding and Tobacco

The World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted forceful resolutions that promote breastfeeding and restrict tobacco industry lobbying, but proposals on the crucial matter of access to low-cost essential medications were watered down, say observers at the World Health Assembly.

DISARMAMENT: US to Stand in the Way of Biological Arms Treaty

The United States has thrown another wrench into multilateral disarmament talks by blocking one more international treaty, the verification protocol for the biological weapons convention (BWC).

HEALTH: NGOs Chastise UN on AIDS and Access to Drugs

Civil society groups spoke out at the World Health Assembly against the policies the United Nations and its specialised agencies have spelled out for access to low-cost medications and the fight against HIV/AIDS, saying they do not go far enough.

DEVELOPMENT-EDUCATION: Africa to Try out Brazilian Plan

The educational subsidy programme known as "bolsa-escola," applied with great success in Brazil, will be put to the test in Mozambique and potentially expanded to all "least developed countries" (LDCs) in Africa.

ECONOMY: Former Soviet Republics Worse Off Today

The economic prostration of the former Soviet republics has reached such an extreme that they are, on average, 40 percent below their wealth levels of 1989, the year the region's socialist regimes collapsed, says a new United Nations report.

TRADE: US Blocks Iran’s Admission into WTO

The United States has impeded debate on Iran's admission into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by voting against a request sponsored by an informal group of developing countries.

HEALTH: Anti-Tobacco Activists Condemn US Obstructionism

International anti-tobacco organisations accused the United States of obstructing the week-long discussions for drafting a convention on world tobacco control, contentious sessions that concluded here Friday.

TRADE: New Round of Talks No Longer Taboo Subject at WTO

The possibility of a new round of international trade negotiations is no longer the touchy topic of discussion at the World Trade Organisation it used to be, though officials continue to take a cautious tone.

HEALTH: Activists Demand Tougher Anti-Tobacco Fight

Flaws plague the draft of an international anti-smoking treaty being discussed this week in talks sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO), charge civil society groups, particularly because proposed bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship have been watered down.

RIGHTS-MOROCCO: Saharawi Leaders Illegally Arrested, Say NGOs

Moroccan authorities detained two leaders of the Western Saharan peoples, known as Saharawi, to prevent them from testifying about abuses before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, charged international humanitarian groups Wednesday.

DEVELOPMENT: US Dragging World Economy Down, Says UNCTAD

Hard times are on the horizon for the global economyincluding serious problems for developing countriesas a result of the contraction of the US economy, warns the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

HEALTH: UN Rights Commission Favours Free Access to Medications

Brazil has obtained international support for its policy ensuring free access to the latest medications for its citizens living with HIV/AIDS, a measure sharply challenged by the United States.

HUMAN RIGHTS: UN Commission Votes to Censure Cuba

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights reached the end of its list of prickly items for this year's sessions Wednesday with a vote to censure Cuba and a refusal to discuss a similar resolution against China.

HUMAN RIGHTS: UN Prepares to Censure Colombia for Atrocities

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights is putting together a declaration of criticisms - coming from the global forum itself and from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - against Colombian authorities regarding the country's poor human rights record.

RIGHTS-PARAGUAY: Activists Complain to UN of Moon Sect Expansion

Activists appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Commission regarding the sale of the Paraguayan town of Puerto Casado, which was transferred wholesale - with all of its buildings and some 400,000 surrounding hectares - to a company belonging to the Unification Church, better known as the Moon sect.

HUMAN RIGHTS: EU Resolution Strongly Condemns Russia on Chechnya

The most harshly-worded resolution under consideration by this year's annual sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Commission calls for a strong condemnation of the human rights violations committed by Russian military forces in Chechnya.

HEALTH: Reform R&D to Cut Drug Prices, Say NGOs

The tensions arising from the big pharmaceutical transnationals' opposition to slashing medication prices for poor countries could be disarmed through a new international convention on medical research and development (R&D), agree independent experts.