The UN Security Council is set to lift a nearly decade-old embargo on Ivory Coast's international diamond trade and plans to relax its arms embargo there, diplomats said.
A UN General Assembly committee has agreed a landmark first resolution on women's rights defenders such as Malala Yousafzai, despite a hard fought campaign by an alliance including the Vatican to weaken the measure.
Council of Europe chief Thorbjoern Jagland has distanced himself from a controversial resolution of the pan-European human rights body that calls for regulation of circumcision practices.
International experts preparing to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal said they had made "encouraging" progress Thursday and expect to carry out on-site inspections within days.
A disarmament team is to arrive Tuesday in Damascus on a mission to destroy Syria's chemical arsenal, a day after UN experts wrapped up their investigation of alleged gas attacks.
Syria will comply with a UN resolution to destroy its chemical arsenal, President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday, as weapons experts prepared to head for Damascus to begin the task.
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a landmark resolution Friday ordering the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and condemning a murderous poison gas attack in Damascus.
The United States and Russia agreed a draft UN Security Council resolution Thursday on destroying Syria's chemical weapons, breaking a prolonged deadlock over the country's bitter conflict.
Russia-US wrangling over a resolution to enforce the destruction of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons cast a shadow Monday over the start of the United Nations General Assembly.
Iran's defiant expansion of its nuclear programme and 10 failed meetings with the IAEA will dominate a gathering of the UN body's board starting Monday.
The UN General Assembly is expected to adopt the first global treaty on the conventional arms trade Tuesday after the 193 member states failed to reach consensus on it last week.
The UN General Assembly on Monday passed its first resolution condemning female genital mutilation, which opponents say more than 140 million women worldwide have had to endure.
China expressed regret Friday over former UN chief Kofi Annan's resignation as international envoy for Syria and said it would continue to "work for a political resolution" to the conflict.