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Climate change is now officially a human rights issue, as the UN Human Rights Council on Friday passed a resolution on the subject, recognising that the world's poor are particularly vulnerable. The council also gave the green light for a study into the impact of climate change on human rights, describing climate change as a "global problem .. that requires a global solution". The resolution, submitted by the Maldives and passed without a vote, also noted that the poor tend to have limited resources to cope with the impact of global warming. The country's Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid told AFP...

ISLAMABAD, March 10: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has assured OIC ambassadors in Geneva that her Office was taking necessary steps to combat defamation of religions, create a culture of tolerance, explore and elaborate legal framework for respect of religions as well as freedom of expression to address the situation created by the publication of blasphemous cartoons. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louis Arbour held out the assurance to a delegation of 14 Muslim envoys who met her this week to express Islamic world’s deep concerns on publication of defamatory caricatures in Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten...

In the week after the Maoists refused to extend their ceasefire, the rebels have stepped up their bombing campaign targeting government buildings. The rebels said they would take the war from the villages to the cities and that is what they are doing. But all they are destroying are district education offices. The army’s offensive into Rukum two weeks ago now appears to have been a deliberate attempt to provoke the rebels not to extend the ceasefire. Indeed, as soon as the announcement on the ceasfire was made on 2 January the rangers returned to base. Meanwhile, King Gyanendra is...

NEW YORK -- File this under: Why do we need the U.N., again? In case you missed this story, the world's most discredited institution continued its steady slide into irrelevance last week when it confirmed a serial human rights abuser for a third term as a member its High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR). For those unfamiliar with the confirmation process, it works more or less like this: Choose a country that regularly and mercilessly suppresses human rights -- a cinch considering the majority of the commission's 53 member countries, save the U.S. and handful of others, fit the description....

On his arrival as the UN's special representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello declared that "Freedom, dignity and security must, from now on, be taken for granted by all Iraqis". Today, less than three months later, he became the latest victim of rising tide of violence in Iraq, killed when an explosion tore apart his headquarters in central Baghdad. One of the UN's most highly regarded diplomats, Mr De Mello's career with the organisation went back 33 years. As well has holding his position in Iraq, a temporary four month secondment that began in May, he also held the...