RIGHTS: Int’l Campaign Launched Against U.S. “Torture School”

Peace activists from the non-governmental School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) will tour Chile, Peru and Ecuador in August to persuade the governments of those countries not to send any more military personnel to the training centre in the U.S. state of Georgia.

TRADE: “Show Us the Numbers” Says WTO Chief

As trade liberalisation negotiations head into the make-or-break stage, the World Trade Organisation has stepped up pressure to establish concrete numbers for concessions - a none-too-small task given criticisms against the industrialised North's "self interest", and growing divisions among developing countries.

HUMAN RIGHTS: New UN Council Gives Rise to Doubts and Fears

After its first two weeks of sessions, the United Nations' new Human Rights Council has still not given any indications about how it will respond to the countries with the most flagrant abuses, or what structure it would adopt to prevent and punish rights violations.

HUMAN RIGHTS: New Council on Best Behaviour for Inauguration Guests

The United Nations' newly-created Human Rights Council has officially embarked on its daunting task - which includes depoliticising the promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms.

HEALTH: Available Environmental Interventions Could Save Millions of Lives

One quarter of the global disease burden in adults is related to environmental risk factors that could be modified with existing interventions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a new report Friday.

RIGHTS: Child Labour – Slow Progress, Right Direction

Encouraging statistics pointing to a decline in child labour do not conceal the fact that the problem remains a major challenge in large parts of the world, said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the World Day Against Child Labour.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Some Hits, Some Misses on Int’l Report Cards

The Colombian government was able to soften an International Labour Organisation (ILO) sanction proposed to address the country's continued situation of impunity regarding the murder of dozens of trade unionists and workers, but it bore the full brunt of another multilateral body's harsh criticism of the toll that the country's armed conflict is taking on children.

TOBACCO: A Political Struggle to the Death

There's no way around it: tobacco products of any kind are deadly and must be controlled by means of strict regulations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, argued the World Health Organisation in a promo for World No Tobacco Day, Wednesday.

TOBACCO: A Political Struggle to the Death

There's no way around it: tobacco products of any kind are deadly and must be controlled by means of strict regulations under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), argued the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a promo for World No Tobacco Day, which is celebrated Wednesday.

HEALTH: WHO Paves Way for Medicines for the Poor

The World Health Assembly concluded its annual session over the weekend with the adoption of a resolution that could change the concept of drug research and development, and open the door to a system that gives the world's poor greater access to medicines.

BOLIVIA: Wanted – Healthcare Adapted To Indigenous Cultures

The alarming state of health in Bolivia is related to the dominant healthcare model, which ignores the society's traditional cultures, said Health Minister Nila Heredia, who is attending the World Health Assembly in this Swiss city.

HEALTH: WHO Assembly to Face Controversies Over Patents, Taiwan

The most controversial debates at the 59th World Health Assembly will involve the question of intellectual property rights and health, and Taiwan's request to participate as an observer.

HUMAN RIGHTS-US: Another War against Bad Press

A major delegation of lawyers and officials from the United States appeared before the U.N. Committee Against Torture Friday, defending that country vigorously against allegations of serious abuse that have dogged the U.S. government since the early days of the war against terror.

TRADE: Doha Round Lurches Forward in More Fits Than Starts

Although the Doha Round of trade talks continues to stumble, the delegates of the 149 World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries have not thrown in the towel and are determined to meet the year-end deadline for an agreement.

REFUGEES: Colombian Conflict a Challenge for Neighbours As Well

Those displaced by the violence in civil war-torn Colombia are in need of assistance, not only within the country itself, but in neighbouring nations in the Andean region, said the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Americas bureau.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: Chronic Deficit of Health Workers

There is a critical shortage of health workers - doctors, nurses and lab technicians - in poor countries, which most desperately need them, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in its annual report on global health problems.

COLOMBIA: ILO Calls for End to Violence Against Trade Unionists

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Body recognised the Colombian government's efforts to improve protection for trade unionists, but urged it to take measures to put an end to the violence of which labour activists are a target.

RIGHTS: Civil Society Wonders What Role It Will Play in New U.N. Council

This Mar. 15, the Ides of March - an ominous day for the ancient Romans - signalled the death of an institution that played a decisive role in the modern history of human rights, but also witnessed the birth of a successor that has inspired both hope and trepidation among observers.

HEALTH: Brain Drain Hits Poor Countries Hard

Kenya is just one of many developing countries worried about the growing loss of healthcare workers, who mainly migrate to industrialised nations, said Dr. Francis Kimani of Kenya.

HUMAN RIGHTS: No Multi-Ethnic Balance in Sri Lanka, Says Expert

Sri Lankan human rights lawyer Nimalka Fernando says "the world is steeped in racism and religious intolerance," which threaten the very existence of minority communities in countries like her own.

HUMAN RIGHTS: U.N. Commission Likely to Postpone Session

The final session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights will begin on Monday in this Swiss city as planned. But it will immediately suspend deliberations for a week while it waits for U.N. members to adopt a final decision on the creation of the new rights body that is to replace it.