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A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees. The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them. It calls for the United States to halt all "practices amounting to torture", including the force-feeding of inmates who go on hunger strike. The report wants the Bush administration to ensure that all allegations of torture are investigated by US criminal...

WASHINGTON — Documents seen by FOX News suggest a conflict of interest may exist between Kofi Annan's (search) son, the Swiss company he worked for and the United Nations. Congressional investigators are examining those records and thousands of pages of others as part of their probe into the controversial U.N. Oil-for-Food (search) program. FOX News was permitted to review some documents but not make copies. Kojo Annan (search), the son of the U.N. secretary general, claims he has never been involved directly or indirectly with any business related to the United Nations. And Cotecna Inspection S.A., the company Kojo worked...

WASHINGTON — The son of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan unleashed a bitter counterattack on investigators of the U.N. oil-for-food program last night, calling probes of the scandal a "witch hunt" that is part of a "broader Republican political agenda." In his first public comments since the scandal erupted, 31-year-old Kojo Annan came out swinging, insisting there is "no substance" to allegations against him and his father. "I feel the whole issue has been a witch hunt from Day 1 as part of a broader Republican political agenda," Annan said in a written statement to CNN. [snip] The younger...

LAGOS, Nigeria, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Kojo, calls the inquiries into Iraq's oil-for-food program a U.S. Republican "witchhunt," CNN said Tuesday. In a written statement to the network, the 31-year-old said: "I have never participated directly or indirectly in any business related to the United Nations." The oil-for-food program, administered by the United Nations, was designed to allow Iraq to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy food and medicine to offset the sanctions' impact on the Iraqi people. The younger Annan once worked for Cotecna, a Swiss company that inspects commercial...