The Disarmament Education site from the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs can be read and experienced in six languages. And that's just the beginning of the impressive depth and reach of the material presented here. Readers will find annual reports from the Secretary-General on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, pithy presentations such as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's slide...

Global Policy Forum (GPF) monitors the United Nations' global policy making. Based in New York City, the internationally represented GPF has consultative status at the UN. Their visually simple, information-rich Website is divided into the following subsections: UN Financial Crisis, Security Council, Social/ Economic Policy, NGOs, Nations and States, and UN Reform. The content includes essays from...

Tuesday, October 17, 2000, was the eighth annual observance of the UN's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Website dedicated to this observance serves as a gateway to a wealth of UN and UN-sponsored reports, articles, and data relating to the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty 1997-2006. The site also links to relevant data from other sources like the...

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the telecom policy making arm of the UN, based in Geneva, Switzerland, can be reached directly through the Web.

With historical origins dating back to the early 20th century, International Women's Day has been officially celebrated since 1977, when the United Nations made a special declaration setting the date in early March every year. This year saw a flurry of important events around the world that coincided with March 8th, including ceremonies designed to honor women of national and international...

In an extraordinary and rapid turn of events, former Yugolosav President Slobodan Milosevic has been extradited to the Netherlands, where he will be tried by the UN War Crimes Tribunal, sitting in The Hague. Milosevic was ordered to make his first court appearance next Tuesday. The first head of state to be tried by the Tribunal, the former Yugoslav President will be charged with crimes against...

There were more developments in the very thorny question of whether a united Cyprus will enter the European Union on May 1st, as the largest Greek Cypriot political party indicated that it would not support the United Nations' plan to reunite the island. Earlier this week, Russia vetoed a United Nations resolution that was designed to encourage a yes vote on the plan. Both Greek and Turkish...

Since its founding in 1945, over 80 nations formerly under colonial rule have joined the UN as sovereign independent nations. Today, seventeen non-self-governing territories remain, administered by France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This site explores the process of decolonization and especially the role of the UN's Special Committee of 24 on Decolonization, founded in...

The RAND Corporation publishes hundreds of timely documents for the general public each year, and one of its latest publications authored by James Dobbins (the director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center) is well worth a look. In this 319-page study, the main finding is that the United Nations "provides the most suitable institutional framework for all but the largest and...

Covering the peace operations undertaken by the United Nations (UN) during 2001, this report details efforts to defuse mass hostility and violence in Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America, and in the Pacific. Approximately 39,500 soldiers and 7,500 civilian police worked with 4,300 international civilian staff and 8,500 local civilian staff. Under often tense and difficult conditions (58 were...