Iraq: Top UN envoy lauds 'proper conduct' of election recount process
The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today welcomed the "proper conduct" of the manual recount of votes cast in the country's March parliamentary polls.
 Following an appeal by the State of Law coalition, a political group headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, regarding the election results, the Electoral Judicial Panel ordered the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to recount by hand all ballots cast in the governorate of Baghdad.
"The manual recount represented a legal right to deal with complaints and thus has affirmed the legitimacy of the elections," Ad Melkert, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said in a press release.
According to media reports, the recount has upheld the narrow lead of the party headed by Iyad Allawi, a former prime minister, over Mr. al-Maliki's coalition in the 325-member Council of Representatives.
Mr. Melkert commended IHEC's work in ensuring the integrity of the process, as well as its efforts to carry out the recount in a well-organized, professional and transparent manner.
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Thailand: UN rights chief calls on government, protestors to 'step back from brink'
Voicing extreme concern at the escalation of deadly violence in Thailand, the top United Nations human rights official today called on anti-government protestors and the security forces to pull back from the brink and search for a peaceful resolution to the current stand-off.
"I urge leaders to set aside pride and politics for the sake of the people of Thailand," High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said of the violence that is reported to have killed dozens of people.
"As the latest government deadline passes, there is a high risk that the situation could spiral out of control. To prevent further loss of life, I appeal to the protestors to step back from the brink, and the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in line with the instructions given by the government. Ultimately, this situation can only be resolved by negotiation."
Echoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call on Friday to all sides to resume talks and avoid further loss of life, Ms. Pillay said she recognized government efforts over the past couple of months to resolve the situation, including the establishment of a 'road map' for national reconciliation.
She stressed that any use of force by security forces should be in accordance with universal human rights standards and welcomed government assurances that it has set three firm principles governing the use of live ammunition - that it should first be fired in the air as a warning, and used as a last resort for self-defense or to save lives.
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UN names Costa Rican as new climate change chief
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica to lead United Nations efforts to combat climate change.
 She will take the reins of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from Yvo de Boer, who announced that he was stepping down to pursue new opportunities to advance progress on the issue in the private sector and academia.
"Ms. Figueres is an international leader on strategies to address global climate change and brings to this position a passion for the issue, deep knowledge of the stakeholders and valuable hands-on experience with the public sector, non-profit sector and private sector," Mr. Ban's spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, said in announcing the decision.
Her appointment as executive secretary of the UNFCCC comes five months after the Copenhagen Accord was reached at last December's UN conference in the Danish capital.
That non-binding pact aims to jump-start immediate action on climate change and guide negotiations on long-term action, pledging to raise $100 billion annually by 2020. It also includes an agreement to working towards curbing global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius and efforts to reduce or limit emissions.
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Preparations begin for 20-year review of landmark UN environment conference
As preparations kicked off in New York for a global summit to review progress since the historic United Nations environment conference held in Rio de Janeiro nearly 20 years ago, a senior official stressed the need for greater efforts to achieve sustainable development.
 At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, countries adopted Agenda 21 - the blueprint to manage and protect the ecosystem and bring about a more prosperous future for all.
Noting that challenges remain in achieving the goals of the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic growth, social development and environmental protection, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang said 'Rio+20' is one of the most important conferences on the UN agenda.
The focus of Rio+20 will be on a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
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Week in Pictures
International Day of Families in Afghanistan
May 15, 2010 - An Afghan family gets together for snack time, as the world marked International Day of Families. UN Photo/Fardin Waezi (UNAMA).
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Students Gather at General Assembly Hall for 11th Model UN Conference
May 13, 2010 - Students gather inside the General Assembly Hall for the 11th annual Model UN Conference, sponsored by the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA).
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